Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!
Author's Note: This chapter contains further mentions of rather negative things. Also, this chapter contains blood, violence, and severe language. This chapter is officialy rated R due to mature content. If this offends you, I apologize, but once again I felt it was necessary for the furthering of the story.
"I have something to say: It's better to burn out, than to fade away!" -The Highlander
Chapter Sixteen: The Burning Heart of a Duelist
Hinata knew that she had to hurry. Those idiots had a head start on her, and if they did something to piss Taichi off she knew they'd be in trouble. So she had to catch up to them in time to stop them from doing something stupid. She considered it her duty to help those less fortunate then her...that and she cared too much about Ryu to see him get hurt.
As her feet pounded against the cold metal floor she thanked the training she had received for teaching her how to control her breathing. If it hadn't then she probably wouldn't be able to keep up running like this without losing her breath.
Up ahead she could hear the voices of the three boys, which meant that Ryu and Kensai had already found Taichi. Not good at all. Putting on a burst of speed she whipped around the corner in time to see Ryu make a bad decision.
"Offended are you? Why not show me what you're capable of. I challenge both of you to a two on one duel!"
Ryu brushed past his companion and activated his duel disk. It slid into position with a loud clank as he stepped forward, duel disk held aloft and ready for action. He fixed Taichi with the deadly stare of one who has faced death and all sorts of bodily harm many times...and he returned Taichi's grin with one of his own.
"We accept." Hinata groaned when she heard him say this. The noise was enough to alert the two fighters to her presence, and they whirled around to see who it was. Upon seeing her they both let out a sigh of relief.
Ryu flashed her a grin and pointed back at Taichi with his thumb. The psycho duelist grinned wickedly and then stuck his tongue out at Ryu's back. "That jerk-off just challenged me and Kensai to a two on one duel, so we're gonna kick his ass. Wanna watch?"
A rough clearing of the throat turned Ryu to his companion, the martial artist Kensai. "About that. See you said 'we accept', but you never asked me whether I accepted. I don't think this duel is a good idea, so I don't accept."
Kensai blinked as the younger fighter got up in his face, staring him coldly in the eye. Apparently Ryu wasn't too happy with his decision to not duel Taichi, but his reasons were his own. And Ryu wasn't going to be changing his mind. "Are you saying that you're afraid of dueling Taichi?"
Ryu grabbed for the front of Kensai's gi in order to pull him forwards, but the fighter reacted automatically. With a sweeping gesture of one hand he knocked Ryu's hand aside. In kind the younger warrior snapped his hand around in a rolling motion that brought it over Kensai's block. For the next several seconds they had an exchange of various grappling moves, until the older and more experienced Kensai managed to pin both of Ryu's hands against his chest.
"I'm not afraid of dueling him, I'm saying that this situation doesn't feel right. Taichi seems just as confident as he was against Kirani, a duelist who was capable of beating you but didn't just so you could get your Blue Eyes back. In fact, from the looks of it, it seemed like he was holding back, just waiting for his Exodia. If we duel him, I know something bad will happen."
Ryu snarled and snatched his hands free. He made a quick snap-turn and was abruptly facing Taichi. Glaring at the other boy he drew five cards from his deck, and inspected them carefully. Once he had checked each of his cards he snapped his head up. "If that's how you feel Kensai, then I'll duel Taichi one on one! I don't give a damn if he beat Kirani even holding back, I'll duel on my terms even if I have to do it alone! I've always been alone anyways..."
"But you aren't now!" These words forced the attention of all three duelists on someone they had been ignoring. Hinata. She stepped forward and plucked a deck from her pocket. In moments she was standing side by side with Ryu, deck in one hand, and a victory sign aimed at Ryu in the other.
"Hinata...you...thanks." The two duelists and long time friends looked into each other's eyes and stayed that way for several seconds, neither looking away. In this moment the two of them shared a connection that went beyond whatever relationship they had. In that moment they were one person, with one goal in mind.
They were snapped out of this moment when Hinata was forced to catch a silvery item that was lobbed at her. She fumbled for a second, nearly missing the catch, but then she managed to get a firm grip on the edge. She looked up from the object to Kensai, whose arm now no longer held his DD2. She flashed him a smile and he just shrugged back. "I know I'm not going to talk either of you thickheaded kids out of this thing, so I figure I'll just encourage you. Kick his ass!"
Ryu and Hinata, a team, a family, both extended their activated duel disks and their initial hands of cards. It would be a two on one duel, but only for Taichi. For both Ryu and Hinata, they were one and the same. It was a one on one duel, and nobody could tell them different.
Taichi smirked and activated his own duel disk, drawing his opening hand. Then he extended his arms out to either side and grinned wickedly as a purple fog issued from his body. The fog, however, didn't have the hoped for effect. Ryu and Hinata didn't even twitch as it swirled about their feet, and started rising up around them.
"This is a two on one duel. I will go first, followed by Ryu, and then Hinata. However this is also a Shadow Game, therefore the consequences of losing are high. When this duel is over, somebody will lose their soul! The rest of the rules will appear as we commence. Do you two accept this Shadow Game?"
As one the two duelists nodded their acceptance, and the game was on. Kensai, on the outside of the fog, could only watch helplessly as a duel that would determine each of their fates began. He could only hope that they would make it out safely, and that his warrior's sense was wrong.
Taichi gave them both a wild grin as he drew his sixth card commencing the duel. (TLP: 4000, RLP: 4000, HLP: 4000) Keeping the wild grin on his face he picked one of his cards from his hand and then slipped it into its activation slot.
"I play the magic card Demon Puppetry. Because there are no demon sub-type monsters on the field I can now special summon a demon monster from my hand at no cost. So say hello to Dark Baltar the Terrible(2000/1200)!"
The monster that was summoned was over eight feet in height, and deadly looking. His lower body was covered by gold armor with spikes coming from the sides, and a green cape covered most of the same armor on his upper body. A mass of spiky hair cascaded down around the strange white linked chain that draped over his shoulders.
Ryu shouted in surprise and frustration as he saw the monster summoned to the field. "You can't do that! Dark Baltar is a fusion monster, it can't be summoned like that!" Taichi merely laughed and displayed the card on his duel disk, which quite obviously did not have a purple background.
Taichi then turned back to his move, and continued by taking another card out of his hand and slapping it down next to Baltar on his monster field. "Next I'll summon Skull Knight #2(1000/1200) in attack mode!"
The new monster was wearing silvery knight's armor and held a wicked looking scimitar in one hand. The helmet that covered its skeletal face tapered off at the ends with a set of horns that went out, one to each side. "I'll finish up by setting two cards. Show me what the two of you are capable of!"
Ryu nodded and snapped a card off his deck. He looked down at his hand and found an excellent combo that he could use. In his first turn he'd have out a monster stronger then many tribute monsters. "I'll summon Slate Warrior(1900/400) in attack mode!"
Ryu's first monster was a tall, strange looking creature. Its body was covered by some sort of yellow armor that had two red eyes on the chest plate. Its head was a light blue color, and a red jewel adorned its forehead. "I'll set up one card, and then equip Slate Warrior with Breaker Blade!"
First one card appeared face down to the left and behind Slate Warrior. Then another card appeared face up, and from it burst a serrated broadsword measuring nearly four feet in length. Slate Warrior snatched it up out of the air, and its stats got a boost.
"Not only does Breaker Blade boost Slate Warrior(2600/400)'s attack by 700, it also allows it deal to deal damage to your life points even if your monster is in defense! Your just lucky I can't attack until my next turn."
Hinata snapped a card off her deck in a confident manner. A confidence that hid the fact that she was just an amateur at this game, and hadn't had a chance to get very proficient at it. The only reason she had a card as rare as Jinzo was because she got lucky in her first booster pack. "Well, I guess I'll start off simple by setting Landstar Swordsman(500/1500) in defense mode."
Hinata's monster appeared on the field, crouching in defense. Because it had been summoned face-up in defense mode, its card appeared beneath it in a sideways position. Its appearance led Ryu to wonder why she had a monster that weak in her deck. "I'll set one card. Now I'll use one of my best cards. I play Wave Motion Cannon!"
Ryu's eyes lit up with glee as her magic card started to appear on the field. Wave Motion Cannon was extremely deadly and extremely rare. After its activation, during Hinata's standby phases it would begin to count. At whatever time she wished she could send it to her cemetery during her main phase to inflict damage to Taichi's life points equal to 1000 times the number of her standby phases it had been active. If they could keep it on the field for four turns then they'd have the game won without having to do anything!
Taichi smirked and waggled a single finger in disapproval. He was acting like an adult chiding a little child for making a mistake...but he was the one who was in trouble. "Trying to beat me without any real effort? Sorry, but I won't allow that. I'll pay 1000 life points to activate Baltar's effect, to negate and destroy you magic card!"
(TLP: 3000) Baltar let out a loud belly laugh as it snatched the white object up from around its shoulders and hurled it full force at Hinata's magic card. It crashed right through the card, shattering it, and then came back to Baltar.
Ryu and Hinata looked on in shock as Taichi grabbed at his chest, his face twisted in a rictus of pain. His body twitched wildly for a few seconds and then subsided. Once it was over the duelist shook his head and offered them a happy grin.
"Remember those rules I mentioned? Well this is one of them. Whenever a player loses life points, their soul is slowly separated from their body. You both saw Kirani lose her soul, and she never reacted. That was because it was instantly removed. In this case the very bonds of your soul are pulled free of your body, and the more life points you lose, the less yourself you will become! Of course that doesn't matter to me, because the only soul in this body is its original one, and losing it will be no great loss. Now do you understand the consequences of agreeing to this duel? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The psychotic duelist grabbed at his next card, barely looking at it before he slammed it down on the field, picking up another monster in the process. "I'll tribute Skull Knight #2 for Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600)! Not only that, but by offering my knight as tribute for a demon sub-type I can now special summon another Skull Knight #2(1000/1200) face up in attack mode!"
The deadly, blue skinned ruler of the underworld exploded from the ground beside Baltar, and then took his place. Hades was even bigger then his associate, and deadlier as well. At his summoning another plot of grounded erupted, and from it rose the second Skull Knight #2. "Now that I've got these monsters, I'll activate my face down card, Demon Catapult!"
One of Taichi's face down cards, a trap, flipped up. In a flurry of holographic light a massive catapult decorated with skulls and other various body parts creaked forward next to the three demons. As soon as it was in place, the Skull Knight lept into the launch position, and Hades stepped up to grab the lever.
"By sacrificing one demon sub-type on my field I can send cards from your hand or the top of your deck to the cemetery equal to the level of stars of the monster I sacrifice. Of course its only a one time trap, so you don't have to worry about that much. Now I launch him to destroy the three cards in your hands!"
The two duelists braced themselves as Hades pulled the lever, sending Skull Knight #2 flying at them at high speeds. It exploded right in front of them, sending bones flying in all directions. The shear force of the detonation knocked both of them off their feet and a yard backwards.
With a groan they both got to their feet and deposited their remaining cards in the cemetery. However by the look of things Taichi wasn't finished yet. He had other plans. "I play the magic card, Treasure of Hell, making all three of us draw cards from the bottom of our decks until we have six cards in our hands!"
Ryu and Hinata sent each other a glance of confusion as they picked up their decks and drew their six cards. It didn't make sense for Taichi to make them discard and then make them draw cards. Taichi was up to something.
"Yes, you guessed correctly. I do have something planned! Tell me, do you know about voodoo? You see voodoo is a form of black magic, where a representative, often a doll, is used as a focal point. The representative can be manipulated to effect the thing it represents. Why do I say this you ask? Because my next card is Big Bad Voodoo!"
The magic card that appeared in front of Taichi depicted a pair of hands sticking pins into a doll. In the background a man was shown screaming agony. "I can now discard any number of cards from my hand, and because those cards represent your cards, you must discard the same number. Now I discard five cards from my hand!"
The other duelists groaned as they sent four of their six new cards to the cemetery, and watching as Taichi did the same. Taichi smirked and activated his remaining face down card. "Open trap, Forced Requisition! Whenever I discard a card you must now discard the same number! So discard five more cards, two from your hand and three from the top of your deck!"
Ryu was starting to catch on to what he believed Taichi's true strategy to be. Already he had been forced to send thirteen cards to his cemetery. Hinata had fourteen in hers and both had played a total of sixteen cards. If a person's deck contained the minimum of forty cards that would already be more then a fourth of their deck. Taichi was trying to deck them out!
Suddenly Taichi grinned and plucked his deck from the holder. As he did so he ejected a card from his cemetery and displayed it to them. It was a magic card with a picture of severed hand just floating there.
"This move is an interesting one. You see, one of the cards I discarded was Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet. When it goes to the cemetery I'm allowed to guess the type of card that is at the bottom of my deck, magic, trap, or monster, and if I guess correctly I can draw five cards. In a case like this you either need to be lucky, a cheater, or you'd need to be able to see the future to get it right! So I'll guess it's a monster card!"
He extended the deck, bottom facing forward, so that Ryu and Hinata could see what type of card it was. Low and behold it was indeed a monster, in fact it was the one monster the two of them had no idea how they might defeat it. It was a good thing it was at the bottom of his deck. They nodded to Taichi, who grinned and picked that card up. "Whether I had gotten it right or not, I'm forced to discard the bottom card that I guessed at. Don't worry about it being Exodia, I don't need its power to destroy the likes of you!"
Taichi apparently wasn't finished with his turn, as he drew five cards and then slid another card into a slot and pressed the activation button. He certainly seemed to be on a roll with all of these combos. "I play Technique of Exorcism! This is the magic card version of Demon Catapult, except the cards you discard can only be from the top of your deck. So I'll sacrifice Baltar for its effect!"
Baltar let out a cry of agony and a black cloud erupted from his body, destroying him. The cloud lifted up and then swarmed towards Taichi's opponents, surrounded them. It hovered there for several seconds before flying into their duel disks. At that moment, as they were forced to send their five cards on the top of their decks to the grave, Hinata came to the same conclusion Ryu had. The worst part was...they had no way to stop him.
"I'll set one card face down on the field, and end my turn. Lets see what you two can accomplish without any options whatsoever!" On the outside of the fog Kensai was biting his lip so hard it was starting to bleed. He had known that this wasn't a good idea, but he had helped Hinata anyway. He had figured that if they were both so determined to duel, then Ryu would have a better chance with Hinata by his side. Now he was starting to think he should have requested it be a three on one duel, maybe then they'd have a chance.
With no cards in his hand Ryu felt that top decking really did leave him with hardly any options. He'd have to get really lucky if he was going to manage to take Taichi out before he destroyed their decks. He picked the card up and looked down at it. Recognizing the picture he played it without reading the effect text. "I equip Slate Warrior with Life Giving Gauntlets, too boost his attack to 3100!"
Slate Warrior remained impassive, even as its already large fists were covered by spiked gauntlets. The gauntlets were more then ordinary, as they let out an eerie orange glow. "Aside from boosting Slate Warrior's attack by five hundred, the gauntlets do exactly what they say. When I deal damage to my opponent's life points with a monster that has these equipped to it, I gain life points equal to the damage it deals to my opponent's life points. So go Slate Warrior! Destroy Hades!"
Slate Warrior launched itself at the demon lord, swinging its blade as it went. But Taichi had other plans. "Activate Armored Glass!" A small shell of glass armor appeared right in Slate Warrior's path. The conditioned warrior automatically slashed at it with its blade, shattering the armor. However the swing put it off balance, and it stumbled into Hades's chest. The ruler of the underworld grabbed the warrior by the throat and snapped his neck with a twisting motion. Slate Warrior faded away.
(RLP: 3450) Ryu's body was burning. Never before had he experienced agony like what he felt at that moment. It was pain beyond description. Mind numbing, dreadful pain that flooded his body. To him it was as if a millennia passed before it ended. In reality it was merely a few seconds. As he started to get his faculties back he realized exactly how much worse it would have been if the damage had been greater. "How?"
Taichi's response was simple. He didn't bother to boast, or make any sort of violent or taunting gestures, he just explained it. "Every good duelist should have a side deck. Knowing the sort of cards you used I slipped Armored Glass into my deck before the duel started. When you equip a monster with an equip card I can activate Armored Glass. For the duration of the turn the effects of all equip cards are negated. So you ran your 1900 power attacker into my 2450 attacker. Hence your loss and my gain."
Ryu grimaced, knowing that his only hope lay with his partner. His face down card was only a delay. It would only work once. It was up to Hinata to pull something off. The said duelist picked up her next card, giving her one card in her hand, and then set it on the field. "I'll set a monster in defense mode. That's all for me."
Ryu and Kensai both groaned, knowing that their team was in bad shape for whatever move Taichi might make next. Taichi knew this, and as he drew a fourth card into his hand he flashed them a sadistic grin to show that he was well aware of this.
"I'll set one card face down, and activate the magic card, Halt Play! Now, until the end of my opponent's next turn, no magic or trap cards can be activated. So I'll summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500) and have it and Dark Ruler Hades attack Ryu directly!"
The monster that Taichi summoned was a purple skinned demon with spikes extending from all parts of his body and a pair of curling steel horns on the side of its head. A green cape fluttered behind it and its weapon of choice was a scimitar that looked as deadly as the skull knight's had.
The Demon Soldier unsheathed its blade and bounded across the field, Hades running at his side. Their goal was to strike down Ryu, and without the power to activate his own face down card, he was utterly defenseless...or so he thought.
"Landstar Swordsman, defend against Hades's attack!" Hinata's little swordsman lept in the way and took the full force of Hades's strike. The demon ruler picked the swordsman up in both its hands and then brought him forcefully down upon its knee. The breaking of bone could be heard, and Landstar Swordsman screamed in agony as its back was broken.
Its cry was accompanied moments later by the cry of the duelist it had been protecting. Demon Soldier's slashing blade cut a red line across Ryu's shoulder and then the game's rule took effect. He started to lose who he was as his life points ticked down. This time the pain was so far beyond what he had previously experienced that the world itself faded away, leaving nothing but the cold white of his agony.
(RLP: 1550) Slowly the other colors in the spectrum of his world started to return. However the blank look on his face was enough to let those present realize that something had changed. His confusion was evident, and its cause was that so much of who he was had been separated from his body. He just couldn't remember who he was.
Taichi's eyes widened in shock as the Millennium Gauntlet on Ryu's fist blazed a gold color. It was resonating in response to a huge surge in power that was coming from the area of the dueling arena. Even the power that Taichi possessed was resonating with the awesome force that was being displayed. It was impossible! Nobody here had that kind of power except for him, and even he would have to call upon the powers of all the Millennium items he possessed to surpass it!
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Ryu, yes, Ryu was his name. Ryu Shigeru. Yes, Ryu Shigeru existed in a world that was full of all sorts of things. However all of these things were shady, at the edge of his vision. Always out of reach. But the golden glow from his hand was changing that. Memories lit up for him, displaying his life piece by piece.
In a few seconds he would come out of his daze and be a changed person. He would not remember anything that had happened in the time between his full awakening and the time of the Demon Soldier's strike. But none of that time mattered. His whole being had been returned to him, and for the first time he could thank the gauntlet for being helping him out.
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Ryu Shigeru drew his next card, stood confidently before his opponent. "I pass my turn to end the effect of Halt Play. I may not have been able to make a worthwhile move, but I trust Hinata. I know that she'll turn this duel around for us."
Hinata gave him a winning smile and drew her card. The green pot that greeted her was a much welcome sight that would help her out. "I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." She sent that card to the cemetery and then picked up two more cards from the top of her deck. A deck that under Taichi's assault had quickly dwindled. Originally she had started with forty-seven cards in her deck. That number was now down to twenty-three. Half her deck was gone.
She took one of the two cards she had drawn and prepared to use it. First however, she had to use her face down monster. "I'll flip my face down monster, Bubonic Vermin! By its effect I can special summon another Bubonic Vermin in face-down defense mode."
A cuddly looking hamster was revealed, and by its effect another one was summoned face down. These monsters were pretty weak, but it wasn't their attack or defense that was useful. It was using them for sacrifices. In this case she could keep out another monster, and still sacrifice. "I'll tribute Bubonic Vermin for Jinzo(2400/1400)! Now any traps you have to protect yourself are worthless!"
The android took the field and folded its arms confidently. Despite its power, it just wasn't quite up to par with Hades. A fact that Taichi decided to press home by laughing at her. "In this case Jinzo hurts you more then me. In my next turn I can simply destroy it without fear of any traps because the pathetic thing is weaker then my Dark Ruler Hades. Only an amateur would make a stupid mistake like that!"
Ryu smirked and kicked at the ground in a defiant gesture. "She still has another card in her hand. If she can power her monster up then she can defeat Hades. As long as the two of us work together we can defeat you!"
Hinata's eyes widened as she made the connection with what he had said. Taichi had been right when he said she had made an amateur mistake. She actually hadn't thought about the fact that Jinzo was weaker then Hades. But if Ryu was saying what she thought he was saying then...
"I play the magic card, Movement of the Thieves Guild! This card will allow me to randomly use one card from a player's hand. If it's a monster it gets special summoned to my side of the field, if it's a trap it goes face down, and if it's a magic card it's instantly activated. So I choose to target Ryu!"
Her long time friend grinned and walked to her side, handing her the card. When she saw the truth she returned his grin with a smile of her own, and played the card. Now was her time to shine. "The card Ryu had was indeed a magic card! In fact it was the equip card Eradication Blaster X13, which powers Jinzo up by 500 points!"
Jinzo unfolded his arms and then raised one parallel to his body. With a whir of mechanics it began to change. After several seconds of shifts and alterations his new body part was completed. His right arm now ended in a very high-tech looking blaster. "Jinzo, Eradicate Hades!"
The android aimed its new attachment at Hades, and then let loose a volley of powerful cannon fire. The blast of energy was so powerful that it the recoil shoved Jinzo back a few feet. As the energy raced across the field Hinata could literally see the waves of heat radiating off of the plasma. Hades took the blast full-force in the chest, and exploded without making a sound.
(TLP: 2550) Taichi doubled over for a few seconds, his shoulders twisting about at odd angles, sending his arms wind milling about. After those few seconds were past he shook off the pain and straightened himself, remaining as confident as ever.
"Now that you've taken life point damage, the effet of my new blaster activates. It lets me place an Eradicator token on the field in whatever mode I want. Its stats are equal to the amount of life points that you lose, so I get the first Eradicator token(450/450) in defense mode!"
Jinzo's weapon hissed with the release of a large amount of steam. He pointed the weapon towards the ground beside him, and let off a light blast. Instead of a ball of condensed plasma, the thing that shot from the barrel was a steel shell. It crashed into the ground, and then unfolded into a small mobile weapons platform. Its guns were trained on Taichi.
As soon as it became Taichi's turn the confident psycho placed a card in his hand, giving him a total of two cards. He smirked and took both of his cards and put them in play. "I'll set one card and a monster in defense mode." The two brown-backed cards appeared on the field, looking totally harmless but presenting a possible threat.
"Now I activate Demon Reward, allowing me to draw two cards if I have a demon monster on the field!" The duelist drew two more cards and carefully examined them. He carefully took both and pushed them into his m/t slots. "I'll set a second card face down, and then play a magic card call Burning Attack. One of my monsters may attack directly by reducing its attack by half during this turn. So I'll cut Demon Soldier's(950/1500) attack in half and have it attack Ryu directly!"
The demonic soldier roared at Ryu as it was engulfed by fire. It took off like a rocket right at Ryu, colliding with him and sending him flying several feet back. The fire vanished and Demon Soldier was back in its original form and spot, with its attack strength returned to normal.
Ryu on the other hand wasn't exactly in good shape. The front of his shirt was burned completely off, and light burns covered his chest. His body was also twitching violently as the pain consumed him, driving him nearly off the edge again. However, with Hinata at his side and the power of his gauntlet he was able to persevere. (RLP: 600)
"I'll switch Demon Soldier into defense mode, and end my turn. It won't be long now before this duel comes to an end!"
Ryu coughed and picked himself up, drawing one card as he did so. He grinned and slapped it onto one of his monster zones. "Yeah, comes to an end in our favor that is. You may have me beat when it comes to life points, but Hinata is ahead of you both in field strength and in life points. So all I have to do is back her up with Battle Ox(17000/1000). Go ahead Hinata, finish him off!"
Hinata smirked for the first time in that duel, displaying an arrogance that only those who believe themselves to be better can achieve. In this moment she believed, no she knew, that she was better then Taichi. With Ryu's help she was going to finish off Taichi once and for all, then nobody would have to worry about him.
"I'll flip my Bubonic Vermin to bring out the third and final one. Next I'll tribute my face up Bubonic Vermin and my Eradicator token for my strongest monster. Meet Sword Hunter(2450/1700)!" The monster that she summoned was a warrior who had far too many weapons on his body. Even part of his helmet was a thick dagger. The guy was armed to the teeth, and his effect would only arm him further.
"Jinzo, destroy Demon Soldier!" The android raised its favorite arm and shot a bolt of pure plasma at the demonic entity. Like Hades before it the Demon Soldier was unable to offer any resistance to the sheer power of the futuristic weapon, and was destroyed instantly.
"Sword Hunter, take out his other defense monster!" The weapon hunter drew a few of its many blades and charged at the defense monster, slicing it several times with its swords. The defense monster was slashed apart, but it reappeared moments later. The monster that was revealed was...a tree.
"You've flipped Fiber Jar! His effect will force us to shuffle our hands, fields, and cemetery in with our deck and then draw five cards. But I intend to keep that from happening to me. Activate Protective Pentagram! During this turn no monster or magic effects can affect my side of the field!"
Ryu and Hinata groaned as all their hard work vanished. On the other hand it didn't make sense for Taichi to return to them all the cards he had sent to their cemetery. Not only that, but he left himself with fewer options by using his Protective Pentagram. All he had now was a single face down card, and he'd only have one card in his hand come the next turn. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."
Taichi's shoulders shook with mirth as he placed a single card in his hand. He didn't even bother to check what it was, because he didn't need to. The game was over, and he had won.
"I told you earlier that I had no need of Exodia to defeat you. That was indeed the truth. I know that both of you came to the conclusion that I was trying to deck you out, and just now you must have wondered exactly why I undid that work. The answer comes with a card I got in my last Battle City duel. I had gotten all the locator cards I needed and more, but this final duelist, one who had six locator cards of her own, insisted on challenging me. I defeated her and then took this card."
He thrust one hand out in front of him, over his face down card. While Jinzo had been on the field it was useless, but now it was about to win him the duel. Better yet, there was absolutely nothing that these two fools could do about it! "Reveal trap card, Reversed Worlds! At a cost of 1000 life points I can switch each player's cemetery with their deck!"
(TLP: 1550) Taichi's laughter cut through even his own agonized spasms. It took the two duelist and their observer Kensai several seconds before they realized exactly what Taichi had just done. With no cards in their cemetery, and all but five cards intact in their deck, they were forced to place all of those cards in the cemetery. "Go ahead and take your turns. You lose no matter what!"
Ryu hung his head as it became his turn. Unable to draw a card he automatically lost the duel, according to the deck out rule. Moments later Hinata lost by the same rule. Taichi had defeated them. Not with the raw force of Exodia, not with beat down, but with sheer unstoppable strategy. Everything he had done was preparation for that single moment, and they had payed the price for it.
Taichi stood over the two defeated duelists, and knelt down so that he was at their level where they crouched in defeat. The two refused to look him in the eye, knowing what would come soon. He would just have to shake them up a bit. "Well, I think it rightfully should be Ryu who decides, seeing as how he was the one who accepted the duel in the first place."
Both of their heads shot up in surprise. Ryu instantly asked the obvious question, hardly thinking about what sort of response he might get. "What do you mean, I should decide? Decide what?"
Taichi put a hand to his heart as if surprised. He even gasped in shock to make it that much better. Oh how he lived tearing this mortals apart from the inside out. "Why which of you loses their soul of course!"
"Which of us? But we both lost!" Taichi's eyes seared into Ryu's very core of being, and he felt the surge from his gauntlets. In that moment he remembered exactly what Taichi had said about their souls. He remembered, and now he understood.
Taichi grinned and then stood, pointing back and forth between the two duelists. "I see you remembered what I said. It was 'someone' will lose their soul. Meaning only one. Now it will be you who chooses who it is who loses their soul. Shall it be you? Or will it Ms. Donovan?"
He could see the pain in Ryu's eyes, could feel it coming off the boy in waves. How easy this mortals were to manipulate, and how much fun it was to break them. He wondered whether Ryu's breaking point was like Drake's. Drake was a strange one.
Through manipulation Taichi had pushed him passed what he had believed to be Drake's breaking point, but though he broke, it wasn't what Taichi had wanted. Instead Drake become a furious raging demon, instead of a broken mess of a mortal. Would Ryu be the same? "Who will it be? Tick tock tick tock tick tock, the clock is ticking Mr. Shigeru. Decide now or I'll decide for you."
Ryu stood and faced Taichi, fire in his eyes. That fire, when that fire was extinguished Taichi would truly have succeeded in crushing the spirit of such a strong youth. Crushing this boy was more of an accomplishment than crushing Shadi, as he was the tougher of the two. "Mine. Take my soul."
Taichi smiled and raised the blank card that he had waiting. "As you wish." A bright flash of light ripped the purple fog away from them, giving Kensai a clear view into the blinding light. It washed over the entire corridor, blanketing them all in that glorious hellish light. And Hinata's lifeless body hit the ground.
Ryu's eyes whipped over to Hinata and he dropped to his knees. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. But no response could be dragged from her. "It was suppose to be me! It was supposed to be me! Never you!"
Ryu Shigeru, a young man of seventeen who had faced worse then many people older then he. A young fighter who had been through gun fights and seen people he cared about mowed down. This young man, Ryu Shigeru, collapsed on the body of the girl he considered his little sister, and he began to sob uncontrollably.
Taichi Nobuki walked passed the sobbing wreck, passed the body he hugged fiercely to his chest, passed the furious Kensai, and towards the dueling ring. He had been right all along. Breaking Ryu Shigeru had been more enjoyable then breaking Shadi. That would make it all the better when the time came to finish him off.
Behind him Ryu's sobbing faded away into a mere echo in the distance.
*********************************************
As soon as Mai and Dalin had exited the arena, the next competitor was already making his way to his place. Shuffling his deck heatedly, Drake Ihachi cast a glance over his shoulder at the younger girl, Autumn Kurai. "Are we gonna do this thing or not? I don't have all day!"
The auburn hair girl rolled her eyes and started shuffling her own deck as she made her way up to stand across from Drake. Once she was satisfied that her deck was well shuffled she slammed it home into her deck holder, and watched as Drake did the same. Then they raised their arms and activated the duel disks. The machines clanked into position and the counters rose. The field projectors activated and the ref stepped forwards.
Raising one arm into the air the ref gave the official announcement. "The final duel of the quarter finals will now commence! Duel!" The two duelists pulled their disks close to their bodies and drew their opening hands. Autumn caught Drake drawing six cards, so realized that he intended to go first. (DLP: 4000, ALP: 4000)
Drake looked down at his six cards and grimaced, not getting as good a hand as he had hoped for. He hadn't seemed to have gotten any of his best cards during all of his Battle City duels. That would have to change if he was going to beat Taichi.
Frustrated he shook his head, getting his hair out of his eyes. In the action of doing so he managed to not notice the faint glow that was pulsing from the disc that hung around his neck. He grabbed two of his cards and played them as quickly as he could, wanting to get the duel done with. "I'll set one card face down and a monster in defense. That's all."
In Autumn's head her two spirits could be heard arguing. They were arguing about Drake, arguing about the darkness that she had felt weeks ago. A few weeks ago she had seen someone who looked vaguely familiar walk by, and they had exuded a strange and powerful darkness. She could feel that same darkness floating off of Drake in waves.
Her spirits wanted to take over, but she knew that this was one duel she had to win on her own. She had to prove to herself that she didn't need them, and she had to beat Drake to knock some sense into him. Hastily she drew her card, and her move was on.
"I'm going to empty my hand in this first turn. I'm going to start off by using a magic card so rare and so powerful that I doubt even Kaiba has one. Anybody who has one of these is lucky beyond belief, and I got mine from some robed freak in my first Battle City duel. Time to meet...Raigeki!"
Drake let out a cry as he was momentarily blinded by the bolt of lightning that pierced through the clouds. It crashed down on his side of the field and his face down monster was blown away in a mere second. Because it was destroyed by a card like that, its effect was useless.
Autumn grinned and plucked another card from her hand and slammed it down on her playing field. "I'll continue my turn and your defeat by summoning Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600)!" A tall warrior decked out in black armor appeared on the field, menacing Drake with the blade that extended from its right arm. It was a deadly looking monster, but something about it felt wrong to Drake.
"What's someone like you doing with that monster? It doesn't seem like your style." Autumn responded by shrugging her shoulders and giving him a slight smile. Drake could tell by the smile that she was hiding something. Whatever she was hiding couldn't be good.
"I like it that's all. Now I'll continue by setting two cards face down. Now Gearfreed attacks!" The knight hurled itself across the field at Drake's waiting body, its blade pointed straight at Drake's chest. The punk duelist smirked and clenched one fist at his side, clenching so hard that his knuckles started to turn white.
There was a brief flicker of golden light from his item before he put one arm out in front of him as if to ward off Gearfreed's attack. "Activate Waboku!" The robed men appeared on the field and stopped the knight's blade before it could reach Drake. Unable to complete its attack and inflict damage the knight was forced to return to its spot in front of Autumn.
The female duelist took the two remaining cards in her hand and slipped them into her m/t slots, taking up four of the five spaces. If she kept up like that she might end up in a situation similar to the one Dalin had been in during the previous duel. "My first magic card is called Mirage of Nightmare! By its effect during your turn I can draw cards until I have four in my hand!"
Drake shrugged offhandedly and then gestured at the card as it appeared holographically on the field. "But since your hand is empty the second part of Mirage of Nightmare's effect will mean you don't really gain anything. Without any cards in your hand you'll be forced to discard four cards, meaning you'll have lost everything you tried to gain. And I was thinking you were a worthwhile duelist."
As he spoke Autumn's second card appeared on the field. It was a magic card depicting two hands covered in metal, clutching a hand of cards tightly. The indicating label at the bottom told Drake that it was a permanent magic card. As to its effect...he'd have to find out.
"My other magic card fixes the mistakes of Mirage of Nightmare! Its called Hands of Steel, and while its in play no player may discard cards to pay for any card cost! Now I'll get to keep every card I draw each of your turns!" Drake grimaced as he realized the severity of the situation. Already he was stuck in one of her loops! She could use as many cards as she wanted in her turn, because then she'd get them back during his!
He grimaced and drew his next card free, but before he could announce his move Autumn announced hers. He watched as her trap card flipped up and she drew cards from her deck until she had four in her hand. "Drop Off will send the card you just drew to the cemetery!" Drake grinned as it went to the grave, knowing that the card he had just lost was often better off in the cemetery then on the field.
"I'll set one monster in defense mode. Next I'll play a revival card known as Shallow Grave. Normally we could both take back a monster and set it face down, however since you've got no monsters in the cemetery I'm the only one who profits!"
His duel disk ejected the card he wanted from his cemetery, and he placed it face down and sideways on the field next to his other monster. At the moment they were just a wall between Autumn and himself. He needed to get a chance to regroup and get better cards. Otherwise she'd take him apart.
"Draw! Now I'll activate my remaining face down card, a permanent trap known as Twin Toss! Now whenever I must flip a coin for an effect I flip another coin with it, so for any card requiring the flipping of a coin, I've got double the chance of succeeding!" The trap card opened up, revealing two hand's flicking a pair of coins into the air. The appearance of this trap had Drake wondering exactly what she was planning.
"I'll continue my turn with the permanent magic card, Second Coin Toss! Now if I so choose I can negate a coin flip and flip again, negating the previous results. This will give me an even greater chance of success!" Her new magic card shimmered into view, backing up her other card. This new combo obviously had something to do without whatever else she was planning. It probably wasn't good for him.
"My third card for this turn is called Soul Exchange, and it lets me sacrifice one of your monsters in place of mine. So I'll sacrifice the monster on the left and my Gearfreed in order to summon a monster I got from one of my Battle City victories. The mighty machine monster, Barrel Dragon(2600/2200)!"
Drake grimaced as his Apprenticeship Magician and Gearfreed vanished, only to be replaced by a towering dragon with two long gun barrels extending from its back. There was a loud click as it loaded a round into each chamber of its gun barrels. With her new monster's effect and the combo of coin cards she had set up, she could easily demolish any defenses she set up. His only advantage at the moment was that it couldn't attack this turn. "Go ahead, flip your coins!"
She grinned and started the coins. As Barrel Dragon's three coins were sent hurtling into the air, another set of three came flying out of the Twin Toss card. The first set ended up two tails and a heads. Unfortunately for Drake the other set were all heads...his monster was a goner. The mechanical dragon's barrels flashed as they unloaded a volley of what was essentially cannon fire upon his defense monster, shattering it into pieces. "So what? You've finished off my defense monster, but you still can't attack!"
Yet again she offered him a grin as she held up another card from her hand. She slipped it into an activation slot and then smirked as the dragon started loading its barrels again. The only reason it would be reloading right now was if it was about to attack. "All rules are meant to be broken. I'll break this one with the Quick Attack magic card! Barrel Dragon, blow him away!"
The golden disc that hung from Drake's neck flashed a bright golden color right before the shell fire struck him. A wave of smoke from the explosion covered him, leaving no way to tell what sort of situation he was in. But with no cards face down all watching were certain that the direct attack had been successful.
The smoke faded away, revealing a confident Drake standing there looking unharmed. Most duelists would have been knocked over by the explosive force of the attack, but somehow he was standing, unmoved by Autumn's efforts. "Nice move. Is it over?" Autumn nodded, giving him the go ahead, and he drew his next card. As he did so he saw Autumn replenish her own hand.
(DLP: 1400) Drake grimaced as he looked down at his hand of a measly three cards. So far Autumn's moves had been impressive and highly effective. Already he was down to less then half his initial life points. He had to do something to recover soon, or he'd be finished for sure! He couldn't let her win, only he had the right to face Taichi! "I'll set one card face down, and a monster in defense mode. Go ahead and take your turn, but know that nothing you do can keep me from Taichi!"
Autumn drew her next card, giving her a total of five cards. She started to pick one card from her hand to play when she was cut off by Drake's commanding voice. She looked up from her hand to see him raising his face down card. She saw immediately that it was a trap card, but it was one she didn't recognize.
"Activate Mechanical Magic Mirror! This will let me activate a magic card from your cemetery!" Autumn gasped in shock as the sky above boiled over with dark clouds, revealing exactly what card he was using. She threw a hand up in front of her face to shield her eyes as a bolt of lightning stabbed down from the heavens and shattered her Barrel Dragon into a million pieces. Now her coin combo was useless, and her strongest monster was gone!
"Nice move. Now I'll start this turn by summoning Amazoness Swords Woman(1500/1600). Amazoness, attack his defense monster!" A feral looking woman with long dirty hair appeared on the field, wielding a large sword. She bounded across the field and slashed her weapon down at Drake's defensive monster. It was revealed to be a blue skinned woman wearing a green robe. The amazon's blade was reflected backwards.
(DLP: 900) "What the hell? Why are my life points going down? You're the one who ran face first into my Mystical Elf(800/2000)!" Autumn shrugged her shoulders almost as if she too was confused. She set a card face down before bothering to give him an explanation of any sort.
"Her effect. Whenever she's in battle all damage that would be dealt to my life points are dealt to my opponent's instead. She's perfect for monsters like Mystical Elf. Because the elf's attack isn't worth a thing I can continue to deplete your life points each turn by running my amazon monster headlong into your defenses!"
Drake's body was beginning to shake as he felt the anger bubbling up and being directed at Autumn. She wasn't the source of his anger, but she was getting in his way, and he couldn't stand it! He absolutely refused to have some little girl stand in his way! She was two years younger then him! His sneer turned into a smirk of victory as he took a look at the card he had just drawn. Now he had a chance to regroup. "Pot of Greed!"
He placed two more cards in his hand and his eyes lit up at the sight of one of those cards. It was the counterpart to his deadly magic card, Change of Heart. Now he'd be able to turn this duel around in his favor! "I'll begin by switching Mystical Elf into attack mode. Next I'll summon Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) in attack mode!"
The deadly black robed spellcaster took its spot next to the holy elf, ready to obey its master's call. It was a powerful monster, and if played correctly it would bring out one of Drake's strongest monsters. "Next I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon on your face down card!"
Autumn grimaced as a gust of wind and small bolt of lightning shattered her face down card. Now she didn't have Wall of Blades trap. If he had attacked while she had it, she would have been able to flip a coin. If she had called it right then his monster would be destroyed and he'd have lost half his life points. But now that chance was gone!
"My next magic card is equally as rare as Raigeki...and I got it when I became a Rare Hunter! Initially I took my position as a Rare Hunter to gather information for Kaiba, however I realized that its benefits are quite great, more then the pathetic dental plan Kaiba offers!" At this everyone through a glance at the CEO who refused to look in their direction.
"I play the magic card, Absolute Power! Using this card I can take control of the effect of one of your magic cards! So now I'll take over Mirage of Nightmares! I'll be the one profiting from your card combo now! Not only that, but Confiscation will give my magician a second magic counter. With that note, Skilled Black Magician attacks!" The mage thrust his staff forward and sent a stream of black magic energies cascading down upon the amazon. Unable to defend herself against the superior attack the female warrior succumbed and was destroyed.
(DLP: 500) "Mystical Elf, attack directly!" The holy elf raised her hands and whispered some sort of mystical chant. A faint glow surrounded her, echoed by the glow that was issuing from Drake's Millennium item. The glow around the elf escalated, and a white blast of magic shot forth and struck Autumn in the chest, forcing her backwards a couple of feet.
(ALP: 3200) Autumn grimaced and drew her next card, hoping for a monster strong enough. Drake had been taking a large risk, getting through her amazon just for a direct attack by the weak Mystical Elf. Doing so had been a risk, but his risk had payed off. Her only monster had no attack strength, but it had a worthwhile effect. Her newest card on the other hand...
'Misuno! We did not have a Mirror Force trap card in our deck! What the hell do you think you're doing? I said this was my duel! Have you been manipulating the cards I've gotten the whole time?'
A faint whisper responded to her in her head, a dry chuckle that grated her nerves. It seemed like AB wasn't able to control Misuno as well as she had hoped. That evil jerk was starting to piss her off! 'Of course. In fact I also manipulated his cards so he'd have a bad hand in the beginning. Unfortunately the kid either got wise or just instinctively used his own magic to negate mine. The kid is strong...much stronger then any I've encountered in a long time. Too strong if you ask me.'
Tossing aside his words she chose to act with what she had. If Drake was using his own magic to stop Misuno, there was nothing saying that he wasn't using his magic to get the cards he needed anyways. If he was stronger then Misuno he might even be manipulating her deck so she wouldn't get a good card. That might be why he so confidently left his elf out in the open. It would also explain how he defeated Kaiba. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and one card. End turn."
She smirked to herself as he drew his next card, giving him five cards in his hand thanks to the effect of her own Mirage of Nightmare. Thanks to her Hands of Steel card he didn't have to discard either. As soon as he attacked he'd get a big surprise. Even if he got past Mirror Force her monster Breaker Wall would shatter his defenses and give him damage as well. Coupled with its high defense it would even deal damage to her opponent if the monster's attack was higher then its defense.
"I play Shot From the Dark, activating a card from my cemetery. Namely Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down card! With that out of the way I sacrifice the three counters and my magician in order to special summon the Dark Magician(2500/2100)!"
Autumn grimaced as her Mirror Force was destroyed, and then moments later the purple robed magician that characterized a spellcaster deck took the Skilled Black Magician's place. What was worse was that its appearance was a special summon, so Drake could still summon this turn. Breaker Wall would hold him off. "Now I sacrifice Mystical Elf for Chaos Magician(2400/1900)!"
The new monster was similar to the Dark Magician, except it was more heavily covered, and its robes were a black color with red trim. Its staff was also black with a glowing red jewel imbedded in it. Autumn sighed, knowing that her estimation was a bit off. "Chaos Magician, attack her defense monster!" A burst of light magic energy shattered her monster. In reply a flurry of shards struck out at Drake. Moments before they could hit him a bright light sprang up from his disc and the shards shattered feet away from him.
(DLP: 400) "Dark Magic Attack!" Autumn cried out as the blast struck her dead on, knocking her backwards and breaking her life points down. Now she was in as bad a shape as Drake, and he had the obvious advantage. How quickly the tides could turn. (ALP: 700) Her opponent didn't smirk, didn't grin, he merely glared daggers at her, his body shaking with anger as he shoved two cards into his m/t slots.
"I'll set these two cards face down. Next I'll play Magical Well, allowing me to place one magic card from my deck and put it in my hand. However I can't activate it during this turn. That'll be it for me you stupid bitch!" Autumn's eyes widened as he cursed at her, his body shaking even more heavily, as if he were going into withdrawal or something like that.
She continued to watch him as she drew, realizing that something was happening to him. Not even Misuno or AB could answer the question as to what was happening to him and why. They were as confused as she was. She didn't have time to waste on checking how everyone else was reacting. She had to duel. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Barrel Dragon(2600/2200)!"
The mechanized dragon appeared on the field and loaded up its cannons. She started to call out for it to activate its effect but before she could Drake beat her to the punch. "Open face down card, Negate Effect! This quick play magic card stops the effect of one monster on the field during this turn. Namely yours!" She groaned as her monster's effect was cut-off before it could get off the ground.
"Fine, Barrel Dragon, attack and destroy Chaos Magician!" The dragon unloaded its cannons on the defenseless wizard, who, unable to stop the attack, was blown into a million pieces. Taking a chunk of what remained of Drake's life points with him. However her joy was put aside as two more monsters appeared in its place, Apprenticeship Magician and Skilled Dark Magician.
"Your destruction of my magician triggers my other quick play magic card, Reward of Necromancy! It allows me to revive monsters from my cemetery whose total levels are equal to or less then the monster you destroyed!" Autumn grimaced as she was forced to end her turn, knowing that Drake had recovered yet again.
The rage that she saw in Drake's eyes as he drew his next card frightened her greatly. Even worse was the surging energies of his disc. She wasn't as good at sensing magical energies as Misuno was, but even she could feel the energy rolling off of Drake in waves, and it was far above anything she could accomplish, even with the help of her two spirits and her item. His power was mind boggling and it just kept growing!
"I play Card in Hand to call a monster from my deck to my hand!" He ejected his deck from its holder and swiftly searched through it before he came to the card he wanted. Then he hastily shuffled his deck and shoved it back into the holder. His actions were impeded by the severe shaking of his hands. His shaking was getting worse as his power grew, meaning that the two were related.
"Now I play the card I got last turn, to revive the monster you forced me to discard in my second turn. I play Monster Reborn!" Autumn's eyes shot as wide as they could go as his next monster appeared on the field. It was a monster she recognized from his duel with Kaiba, the Black Magician of Chaos!
"By its effect I return Monster Reborn to my hand, and now I'll play it to revive Chaos Magician!" The monster Autumn had so recently destroyed reared its head yet again as it was revived from the cemetery, giving Drake a total of five monsters on the field. Drake's power was beginning to reach astronomical levels, and she could now literally feel his anger through her Millennium Staff.
"I sacrifice Skilled Black Magician, Apprenticeship Magician, and Chaos Magician for the Immense Divine Soldier...Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!" He picked up the three named monsters and then slammed his next card on the field as hard as he could. As the god monster started to appear the entire field shook, as Drake's power started pulsing off his body.
The mighty god reared its ugly head, and roared down at Autumn, nearly knocking her off her feet by the sheer power behind that roar. Obelisk had been a well controlled monster when Kaiba had played it, but the rage that infused it from Drake was turning Obelisk into an uncontrollable demon!
Drake raised his arms up to his sides and then squeezed them shut as hard as he could. In response Obelisk reached down and picked up Drake's two monsters and held them up exactly as Drake held his fists. Autumn watched as he squeezed tighter and tighter, watched in horror as the monsters began to cry out in pain. This couldn't be happening....his magic was making this real! "Drake! Why are you doing this? Please don't! You have to stop!"
The infuriated duelist was beyond stopping at this point. The tidal wave of anger and magic that surged through his body had carried him away to a place that was beyond persuasion. On the outside of the arena both Yami and Dalin were focusing their magical energies on the field, but their efforts were like the buzzing of flies to the titanic power that leeched out of Drake's body. Too much power for him to handle.
"You...you don't understand what its like! You didn't have to see those eyes! Didn't have to see them, so blank, once filled with life, those eyes staring up at you just like before! You don't understand! My sister was always an energetic person, even as weak a condition as she was in! But in that moment after she passed this item on to me, in that moment I saw her eyes go blank! She was worse then dead, everything that had made her who she was had been ripped away by some sick bastard who didn't like her breaking up with him!"
Autumn was the one trembling now as blood trickled from the other duelist's hands as he pierced his own skin through the force of his nails on his skin. Above him the bodies of the magicians broke, and blood dripped from the giant god monster's hands, splashing onto the ground below.
"Then it happened again, and again it was some sick bastard who got some sort of fucking pleasure out of it! He enjoyed seeing that look in her eyes don't you understand that? He wanted to see her in that state, wanted to see the life gone from her! He did the same to Shadi, but that was more merciful! At least Shadi got to die! Now that bastard is somewhere here, laughing his head off! And you're standing in my way!"
He swung his arms to the side and the god that was linked to him did the same, sending the corpses of Drake's spellcasters flying into the walls. Once again the god monster roared at her, slowly advancing upon her dragon that now seemed tiny in comparison. Autumn vainly started to gather up all the power she could, ready to defend herself at a moments notice from the juggernaut before her.
"My heart is on fire! I can't even describe the feelings that are ripping me apart inside! You stand between me and my goal, between me and Taichi. And anything in the way of the way for me to quench my burning heart will suffer my wrath! I'll kill anyone who will keep me from quenching my burning heart! And right now...that's you. OBELISK! ATTACK! RIP HER APART!"
The god monster lunged forward, snagging Barrel Dragon in its massive fists. With a mighty twist it ripped the dragon apart, sending a shower of sparks and blood raining down upon Autumn. On the outside the others vainly tried to get in, to stop what was happening. But they couldn't stop it.
(ALP: 0) The duel had been ended, but Obelisk wasn't finished. It reached out for her, its hand uncurling so that it could pick her up and crush her. In that moment she took all the power that she had gathered and unleashed it as a massive barrier against the attack. As she did so she saw the spirit link between Obelisk and Drake. She could break such links with her item, but he was to powerful for that. Slowly Obelisk was pushing past her barrier, and when it reached her she would die.
On the opposite side of the field Drake's body was reaching critical mass. It couldn't handle the huge amounts of magical energies that it was unleashing, and his body spasamed uncontrollably as a release mechanism. It wouldn't take long before Obelisk had killed Autumn, and the energy that Drake was using would kill him in the process as well.
Autumn yelped in surprise as a torrent of magical energies surged through her, buffeting her in its wake. She recognized the textures of the power that Dalin and Yami possessed as they added their magical energies to hers, keeping her safe for a little while longer. But even their combined powers wouldn't hold back Obelisk for much longer.
Drake let out a strangled cry, and then a gurgle as he collapsed face first to the ground, blood welling up in his mouth. His eyes drifted closed and the raging energies that had surged through his body moments earlier dissipated, shattering Obelisk in the process, and keeping Autumn safe. Around him the three exhausted duelists collapsed to their knees, breathing heavily.
The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was feet quickly approaching the field at a frantic pace. The last thing he heard was a very familiar laugh as a familiar presence entered the room. Then Drake saw and heard no more.
He was lucky that he didn't see Taichi's laughter at the debacle before him. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop the energies that had just nearly killed him from rising up again and turning upon Taichi.
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Author's Note: Phew! Got that off my chest. Some of the cards that appeared have not appeared in the CCG yet, not even in Japan. They have however appeared in the anime. Well, read and review!
Original Cards
Taichi: Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet, Demon Catapult, Demon Puppetry, Treasure From Hell, Big Bad Voodoo, Technique for Exorcism, Halt Play, Demon Reward, Burning Attack, Protective Pentagram
Ryu: Breaker Blade, Life Giving Gauntlets, Eradication Blaster X13
Hinata: Movement of the Thieves Guild
Autumn: Hand of Steel, Twin Toss, Wall of Blades, Breaker Wall
Drake: Absolute Power, Shot From the Dark, Magical Well, Negate Effect, Reward of Necromancy, Card in Hand
Author's Note: This chapter contains further mentions of rather negative things. Also, this chapter contains blood, violence, and severe language. This chapter is officialy rated R due to mature content. If this offends you, I apologize, but once again I felt it was necessary for the furthering of the story.
"I have something to say: It's better to burn out, than to fade away!" -The Highlander
Chapter Sixteen: The Burning Heart of a Duelist
Hinata knew that she had to hurry. Those idiots had a head start on her, and if they did something to piss Taichi off she knew they'd be in trouble. So she had to catch up to them in time to stop them from doing something stupid. She considered it her duty to help those less fortunate then her...that and she cared too much about Ryu to see him get hurt.
As her feet pounded against the cold metal floor she thanked the training she had received for teaching her how to control her breathing. If it hadn't then she probably wouldn't be able to keep up running like this without losing her breath.
Up ahead she could hear the voices of the three boys, which meant that Ryu and Kensai had already found Taichi. Not good at all. Putting on a burst of speed she whipped around the corner in time to see Ryu make a bad decision.
"Offended are you? Why not show me what you're capable of. I challenge both of you to a two on one duel!"
Ryu brushed past his companion and activated his duel disk. It slid into position with a loud clank as he stepped forward, duel disk held aloft and ready for action. He fixed Taichi with the deadly stare of one who has faced death and all sorts of bodily harm many times...and he returned Taichi's grin with one of his own.
"We accept." Hinata groaned when she heard him say this. The noise was enough to alert the two fighters to her presence, and they whirled around to see who it was. Upon seeing her they both let out a sigh of relief.
Ryu flashed her a grin and pointed back at Taichi with his thumb. The psycho duelist grinned wickedly and then stuck his tongue out at Ryu's back. "That jerk-off just challenged me and Kensai to a two on one duel, so we're gonna kick his ass. Wanna watch?"
A rough clearing of the throat turned Ryu to his companion, the martial artist Kensai. "About that. See you said 'we accept', but you never asked me whether I accepted. I don't think this duel is a good idea, so I don't accept."
Kensai blinked as the younger fighter got up in his face, staring him coldly in the eye. Apparently Ryu wasn't too happy with his decision to not duel Taichi, but his reasons were his own. And Ryu wasn't going to be changing his mind. "Are you saying that you're afraid of dueling Taichi?"
Ryu grabbed for the front of Kensai's gi in order to pull him forwards, but the fighter reacted automatically. With a sweeping gesture of one hand he knocked Ryu's hand aside. In kind the younger warrior snapped his hand around in a rolling motion that brought it over Kensai's block. For the next several seconds they had an exchange of various grappling moves, until the older and more experienced Kensai managed to pin both of Ryu's hands against his chest.
"I'm not afraid of dueling him, I'm saying that this situation doesn't feel right. Taichi seems just as confident as he was against Kirani, a duelist who was capable of beating you but didn't just so you could get your Blue Eyes back. In fact, from the looks of it, it seemed like he was holding back, just waiting for his Exodia. If we duel him, I know something bad will happen."
Ryu snarled and snatched his hands free. He made a quick snap-turn and was abruptly facing Taichi. Glaring at the other boy he drew five cards from his deck, and inspected them carefully. Once he had checked each of his cards he snapped his head up. "If that's how you feel Kensai, then I'll duel Taichi one on one! I don't give a damn if he beat Kirani even holding back, I'll duel on my terms even if I have to do it alone! I've always been alone anyways..."
"But you aren't now!" These words forced the attention of all three duelists on someone they had been ignoring. Hinata. She stepped forward and plucked a deck from her pocket. In moments she was standing side by side with Ryu, deck in one hand, and a victory sign aimed at Ryu in the other.
"Hinata...you...thanks." The two duelists and long time friends looked into each other's eyes and stayed that way for several seconds, neither looking away. In this moment the two of them shared a connection that went beyond whatever relationship they had. In that moment they were one person, with one goal in mind.
They were snapped out of this moment when Hinata was forced to catch a silvery item that was lobbed at her. She fumbled for a second, nearly missing the catch, but then she managed to get a firm grip on the edge. She looked up from the object to Kensai, whose arm now no longer held his DD2. She flashed him a smile and he just shrugged back. "I know I'm not going to talk either of you thickheaded kids out of this thing, so I figure I'll just encourage you. Kick his ass!"
Ryu and Hinata, a team, a family, both extended their activated duel disks and their initial hands of cards. It would be a two on one duel, but only for Taichi. For both Ryu and Hinata, they were one and the same. It was a one on one duel, and nobody could tell them different.
Taichi smirked and activated his own duel disk, drawing his opening hand. Then he extended his arms out to either side and grinned wickedly as a purple fog issued from his body. The fog, however, didn't have the hoped for effect. Ryu and Hinata didn't even twitch as it swirled about their feet, and started rising up around them.
"This is a two on one duel. I will go first, followed by Ryu, and then Hinata. However this is also a Shadow Game, therefore the consequences of losing are high. When this duel is over, somebody will lose their soul! The rest of the rules will appear as we commence. Do you two accept this Shadow Game?"
As one the two duelists nodded their acceptance, and the game was on. Kensai, on the outside of the fog, could only watch helplessly as a duel that would determine each of their fates began. He could only hope that they would make it out safely, and that his warrior's sense was wrong.
Taichi gave them both a wild grin as he drew his sixth card commencing the duel. (TLP: 4000, RLP: 4000, HLP: 4000) Keeping the wild grin on his face he picked one of his cards from his hand and then slipped it into its activation slot.
"I play the magic card Demon Puppetry. Because there are no demon sub-type monsters on the field I can now special summon a demon monster from my hand at no cost. So say hello to Dark Baltar the Terrible(2000/1200)!"
The monster that was summoned was over eight feet in height, and deadly looking. His lower body was covered by gold armor with spikes coming from the sides, and a green cape covered most of the same armor on his upper body. A mass of spiky hair cascaded down around the strange white linked chain that draped over his shoulders.
Ryu shouted in surprise and frustration as he saw the monster summoned to the field. "You can't do that! Dark Baltar is a fusion monster, it can't be summoned like that!" Taichi merely laughed and displayed the card on his duel disk, which quite obviously did not have a purple background.
Taichi then turned back to his move, and continued by taking another card out of his hand and slapping it down next to Baltar on his monster field. "Next I'll summon Skull Knight #2(1000/1200) in attack mode!"
The new monster was wearing silvery knight's armor and held a wicked looking scimitar in one hand. The helmet that covered its skeletal face tapered off at the ends with a set of horns that went out, one to each side. "I'll finish up by setting two cards. Show me what the two of you are capable of!"
Ryu nodded and snapped a card off his deck. He looked down at his hand and found an excellent combo that he could use. In his first turn he'd have out a monster stronger then many tribute monsters. "I'll summon Slate Warrior(1900/400) in attack mode!"
Ryu's first monster was a tall, strange looking creature. Its body was covered by some sort of yellow armor that had two red eyes on the chest plate. Its head was a light blue color, and a red jewel adorned its forehead. "I'll set up one card, and then equip Slate Warrior with Breaker Blade!"
First one card appeared face down to the left and behind Slate Warrior. Then another card appeared face up, and from it burst a serrated broadsword measuring nearly four feet in length. Slate Warrior snatched it up out of the air, and its stats got a boost.
"Not only does Breaker Blade boost Slate Warrior(2600/400)'s attack by 700, it also allows it deal to deal damage to your life points even if your monster is in defense! Your just lucky I can't attack until my next turn."
Hinata snapped a card off her deck in a confident manner. A confidence that hid the fact that she was just an amateur at this game, and hadn't had a chance to get very proficient at it. The only reason she had a card as rare as Jinzo was because she got lucky in her first booster pack. "Well, I guess I'll start off simple by setting Landstar Swordsman(500/1500) in defense mode."
Hinata's monster appeared on the field, crouching in defense. Because it had been summoned face-up in defense mode, its card appeared beneath it in a sideways position. Its appearance led Ryu to wonder why she had a monster that weak in her deck. "I'll set one card. Now I'll use one of my best cards. I play Wave Motion Cannon!"
Ryu's eyes lit up with glee as her magic card started to appear on the field. Wave Motion Cannon was extremely deadly and extremely rare. After its activation, during Hinata's standby phases it would begin to count. At whatever time she wished she could send it to her cemetery during her main phase to inflict damage to Taichi's life points equal to 1000 times the number of her standby phases it had been active. If they could keep it on the field for four turns then they'd have the game won without having to do anything!
Taichi smirked and waggled a single finger in disapproval. He was acting like an adult chiding a little child for making a mistake...but he was the one who was in trouble. "Trying to beat me without any real effort? Sorry, but I won't allow that. I'll pay 1000 life points to activate Baltar's effect, to negate and destroy you magic card!"
(TLP: 3000) Baltar let out a loud belly laugh as it snatched the white object up from around its shoulders and hurled it full force at Hinata's magic card. It crashed right through the card, shattering it, and then came back to Baltar.
Ryu and Hinata looked on in shock as Taichi grabbed at his chest, his face twisted in a rictus of pain. His body twitched wildly for a few seconds and then subsided. Once it was over the duelist shook his head and offered them a happy grin.
"Remember those rules I mentioned? Well this is one of them. Whenever a player loses life points, their soul is slowly separated from their body. You both saw Kirani lose her soul, and she never reacted. That was because it was instantly removed. In this case the very bonds of your soul are pulled free of your body, and the more life points you lose, the less yourself you will become! Of course that doesn't matter to me, because the only soul in this body is its original one, and losing it will be no great loss. Now do you understand the consequences of agreeing to this duel? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The psychotic duelist grabbed at his next card, barely looking at it before he slammed it down on the field, picking up another monster in the process. "I'll tribute Skull Knight #2 for Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600)! Not only that, but by offering my knight as tribute for a demon sub-type I can now special summon another Skull Knight #2(1000/1200) face up in attack mode!"
The deadly, blue skinned ruler of the underworld exploded from the ground beside Baltar, and then took his place. Hades was even bigger then his associate, and deadlier as well. At his summoning another plot of grounded erupted, and from it rose the second Skull Knight #2. "Now that I've got these monsters, I'll activate my face down card, Demon Catapult!"
One of Taichi's face down cards, a trap, flipped up. In a flurry of holographic light a massive catapult decorated with skulls and other various body parts creaked forward next to the three demons. As soon as it was in place, the Skull Knight lept into the launch position, and Hades stepped up to grab the lever.
"By sacrificing one demon sub-type on my field I can send cards from your hand or the top of your deck to the cemetery equal to the level of stars of the monster I sacrifice. Of course its only a one time trap, so you don't have to worry about that much. Now I launch him to destroy the three cards in your hands!"
The two duelists braced themselves as Hades pulled the lever, sending Skull Knight #2 flying at them at high speeds. It exploded right in front of them, sending bones flying in all directions. The shear force of the detonation knocked both of them off their feet and a yard backwards.
With a groan they both got to their feet and deposited their remaining cards in the cemetery. However by the look of things Taichi wasn't finished yet. He had other plans. "I play the magic card, Treasure of Hell, making all three of us draw cards from the bottom of our decks until we have six cards in our hands!"
Ryu and Hinata sent each other a glance of confusion as they picked up their decks and drew their six cards. It didn't make sense for Taichi to make them discard and then make them draw cards. Taichi was up to something.
"Yes, you guessed correctly. I do have something planned! Tell me, do you know about voodoo? You see voodoo is a form of black magic, where a representative, often a doll, is used as a focal point. The representative can be manipulated to effect the thing it represents. Why do I say this you ask? Because my next card is Big Bad Voodoo!"
The magic card that appeared in front of Taichi depicted a pair of hands sticking pins into a doll. In the background a man was shown screaming agony. "I can now discard any number of cards from my hand, and because those cards represent your cards, you must discard the same number. Now I discard five cards from my hand!"
The other duelists groaned as they sent four of their six new cards to the cemetery, and watching as Taichi did the same. Taichi smirked and activated his remaining face down card. "Open trap, Forced Requisition! Whenever I discard a card you must now discard the same number! So discard five more cards, two from your hand and three from the top of your deck!"
Ryu was starting to catch on to what he believed Taichi's true strategy to be. Already he had been forced to send thirteen cards to his cemetery. Hinata had fourteen in hers and both had played a total of sixteen cards. If a person's deck contained the minimum of forty cards that would already be more then a fourth of their deck. Taichi was trying to deck them out!
Suddenly Taichi grinned and plucked his deck from the holder. As he did so he ejected a card from his cemetery and displayed it to them. It was a magic card with a picture of severed hand just floating there.
"This move is an interesting one. You see, one of the cards I discarded was Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet. When it goes to the cemetery I'm allowed to guess the type of card that is at the bottom of my deck, magic, trap, or monster, and if I guess correctly I can draw five cards. In a case like this you either need to be lucky, a cheater, or you'd need to be able to see the future to get it right! So I'll guess it's a monster card!"
He extended the deck, bottom facing forward, so that Ryu and Hinata could see what type of card it was. Low and behold it was indeed a monster, in fact it was the one monster the two of them had no idea how they might defeat it. It was a good thing it was at the bottom of his deck. They nodded to Taichi, who grinned and picked that card up. "Whether I had gotten it right or not, I'm forced to discard the bottom card that I guessed at. Don't worry about it being Exodia, I don't need its power to destroy the likes of you!"
Taichi apparently wasn't finished with his turn, as he drew five cards and then slid another card into a slot and pressed the activation button. He certainly seemed to be on a roll with all of these combos. "I play Technique of Exorcism! This is the magic card version of Demon Catapult, except the cards you discard can only be from the top of your deck. So I'll sacrifice Baltar for its effect!"
Baltar let out a cry of agony and a black cloud erupted from his body, destroying him. The cloud lifted up and then swarmed towards Taichi's opponents, surrounded them. It hovered there for several seconds before flying into their duel disks. At that moment, as they were forced to send their five cards on the top of their decks to the grave, Hinata came to the same conclusion Ryu had. The worst part was...they had no way to stop him.
"I'll set one card face down on the field, and end my turn. Lets see what you two can accomplish without any options whatsoever!" On the outside of the fog Kensai was biting his lip so hard it was starting to bleed. He had known that this wasn't a good idea, but he had helped Hinata anyway. He had figured that if they were both so determined to duel, then Ryu would have a better chance with Hinata by his side. Now he was starting to think he should have requested it be a three on one duel, maybe then they'd have a chance.
With no cards in his hand Ryu felt that top decking really did leave him with hardly any options. He'd have to get really lucky if he was going to manage to take Taichi out before he destroyed their decks. He picked the card up and looked down at it. Recognizing the picture he played it without reading the effect text. "I equip Slate Warrior with Life Giving Gauntlets, too boost his attack to 3100!"
Slate Warrior remained impassive, even as its already large fists were covered by spiked gauntlets. The gauntlets were more then ordinary, as they let out an eerie orange glow. "Aside from boosting Slate Warrior's attack by five hundred, the gauntlets do exactly what they say. When I deal damage to my opponent's life points with a monster that has these equipped to it, I gain life points equal to the damage it deals to my opponent's life points. So go Slate Warrior! Destroy Hades!"
Slate Warrior launched itself at the demon lord, swinging its blade as it went. But Taichi had other plans. "Activate Armored Glass!" A small shell of glass armor appeared right in Slate Warrior's path. The conditioned warrior automatically slashed at it with its blade, shattering the armor. However the swing put it off balance, and it stumbled into Hades's chest. The ruler of the underworld grabbed the warrior by the throat and snapped his neck with a twisting motion. Slate Warrior faded away.
(RLP: 3450) Ryu's body was burning. Never before had he experienced agony like what he felt at that moment. It was pain beyond description. Mind numbing, dreadful pain that flooded his body. To him it was as if a millennia passed before it ended. In reality it was merely a few seconds. As he started to get his faculties back he realized exactly how much worse it would have been if the damage had been greater. "How?"
Taichi's response was simple. He didn't bother to boast, or make any sort of violent or taunting gestures, he just explained it. "Every good duelist should have a side deck. Knowing the sort of cards you used I slipped Armored Glass into my deck before the duel started. When you equip a monster with an equip card I can activate Armored Glass. For the duration of the turn the effects of all equip cards are negated. So you ran your 1900 power attacker into my 2450 attacker. Hence your loss and my gain."
Ryu grimaced, knowing that his only hope lay with his partner. His face down card was only a delay. It would only work once. It was up to Hinata to pull something off. The said duelist picked up her next card, giving her one card in her hand, and then set it on the field. "I'll set a monster in defense mode. That's all for me."
Ryu and Kensai both groaned, knowing that their team was in bad shape for whatever move Taichi might make next. Taichi knew this, and as he drew a fourth card into his hand he flashed them a sadistic grin to show that he was well aware of this.
"I'll set one card face down, and activate the magic card, Halt Play! Now, until the end of my opponent's next turn, no magic or trap cards can be activated. So I'll summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500) and have it and Dark Ruler Hades attack Ryu directly!"
The monster that Taichi summoned was a purple skinned demon with spikes extending from all parts of his body and a pair of curling steel horns on the side of its head. A green cape fluttered behind it and its weapon of choice was a scimitar that looked as deadly as the skull knight's had.
The Demon Soldier unsheathed its blade and bounded across the field, Hades running at his side. Their goal was to strike down Ryu, and without the power to activate his own face down card, he was utterly defenseless...or so he thought.
"Landstar Swordsman, defend against Hades's attack!" Hinata's little swordsman lept in the way and took the full force of Hades's strike. The demon ruler picked the swordsman up in both its hands and then brought him forcefully down upon its knee. The breaking of bone could be heard, and Landstar Swordsman screamed in agony as its back was broken.
Its cry was accompanied moments later by the cry of the duelist it had been protecting. Demon Soldier's slashing blade cut a red line across Ryu's shoulder and then the game's rule took effect. He started to lose who he was as his life points ticked down. This time the pain was so far beyond what he had previously experienced that the world itself faded away, leaving nothing but the cold white of his agony.
(RLP: 1550) Slowly the other colors in the spectrum of his world started to return. However the blank look on his face was enough to let those present realize that something had changed. His confusion was evident, and its cause was that so much of who he was had been separated from his body. He just couldn't remember who he was.
Taichi's eyes widened in shock as the Millennium Gauntlet on Ryu's fist blazed a gold color. It was resonating in response to a huge surge in power that was coming from the area of the dueling arena. Even the power that Taichi possessed was resonating with the awesome force that was being displayed. It was impossible! Nobody here had that kind of power except for him, and even he would have to call upon the powers of all the Millennium items he possessed to surpass it!
************************************
Ryu, yes, Ryu was his name. Ryu Shigeru. Yes, Ryu Shigeru existed in a world that was full of all sorts of things. However all of these things were shady, at the edge of his vision. Always out of reach. But the golden glow from his hand was changing that. Memories lit up for him, displaying his life piece by piece.
In a few seconds he would come out of his daze and be a changed person. He would not remember anything that had happened in the time between his full awakening and the time of the Demon Soldier's strike. But none of that time mattered. His whole being had been returned to him, and for the first time he could thank the gauntlet for being helping him out.
***********************************
Ryu Shigeru drew his next card, stood confidently before his opponent. "I pass my turn to end the effect of Halt Play. I may not have been able to make a worthwhile move, but I trust Hinata. I know that she'll turn this duel around for us."
Hinata gave him a winning smile and drew her card. The green pot that greeted her was a much welcome sight that would help her out. "I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." She sent that card to the cemetery and then picked up two more cards from the top of her deck. A deck that under Taichi's assault had quickly dwindled. Originally she had started with forty-seven cards in her deck. That number was now down to twenty-three. Half her deck was gone.
She took one of the two cards she had drawn and prepared to use it. First however, she had to use her face down monster. "I'll flip my face down monster, Bubonic Vermin! By its effect I can special summon another Bubonic Vermin in face-down defense mode."
A cuddly looking hamster was revealed, and by its effect another one was summoned face down. These monsters were pretty weak, but it wasn't their attack or defense that was useful. It was using them for sacrifices. In this case she could keep out another monster, and still sacrifice. "I'll tribute Bubonic Vermin for Jinzo(2400/1400)! Now any traps you have to protect yourself are worthless!"
The android took the field and folded its arms confidently. Despite its power, it just wasn't quite up to par with Hades. A fact that Taichi decided to press home by laughing at her. "In this case Jinzo hurts you more then me. In my next turn I can simply destroy it without fear of any traps because the pathetic thing is weaker then my Dark Ruler Hades. Only an amateur would make a stupid mistake like that!"
Ryu smirked and kicked at the ground in a defiant gesture. "She still has another card in her hand. If she can power her monster up then she can defeat Hades. As long as the two of us work together we can defeat you!"
Hinata's eyes widened as she made the connection with what he had said. Taichi had been right when he said she had made an amateur mistake. She actually hadn't thought about the fact that Jinzo was weaker then Hades. But if Ryu was saying what she thought he was saying then...
"I play the magic card, Movement of the Thieves Guild! This card will allow me to randomly use one card from a player's hand. If it's a monster it gets special summoned to my side of the field, if it's a trap it goes face down, and if it's a magic card it's instantly activated. So I choose to target Ryu!"
Her long time friend grinned and walked to her side, handing her the card. When she saw the truth she returned his grin with a smile of her own, and played the card. Now was her time to shine. "The card Ryu had was indeed a magic card! In fact it was the equip card Eradication Blaster X13, which powers Jinzo up by 500 points!"
Jinzo unfolded his arms and then raised one parallel to his body. With a whir of mechanics it began to change. After several seconds of shifts and alterations his new body part was completed. His right arm now ended in a very high-tech looking blaster. "Jinzo, Eradicate Hades!"
The android aimed its new attachment at Hades, and then let loose a volley of powerful cannon fire. The blast of energy was so powerful that it the recoil shoved Jinzo back a few feet. As the energy raced across the field Hinata could literally see the waves of heat radiating off of the plasma. Hades took the blast full-force in the chest, and exploded without making a sound.
(TLP: 2550) Taichi doubled over for a few seconds, his shoulders twisting about at odd angles, sending his arms wind milling about. After those few seconds were past he shook off the pain and straightened himself, remaining as confident as ever.
"Now that you've taken life point damage, the effet of my new blaster activates. It lets me place an Eradicator token on the field in whatever mode I want. Its stats are equal to the amount of life points that you lose, so I get the first Eradicator token(450/450) in defense mode!"
Jinzo's weapon hissed with the release of a large amount of steam. He pointed the weapon towards the ground beside him, and let off a light blast. Instead of a ball of condensed plasma, the thing that shot from the barrel was a steel shell. It crashed into the ground, and then unfolded into a small mobile weapons platform. Its guns were trained on Taichi.
As soon as it became Taichi's turn the confident psycho placed a card in his hand, giving him a total of two cards. He smirked and took both of his cards and put them in play. "I'll set one card and a monster in defense mode." The two brown-backed cards appeared on the field, looking totally harmless but presenting a possible threat.
"Now I activate Demon Reward, allowing me to draw two cards if I have a demon monster on the field!" The duelist drew two more cards and carefully examined them. He carefully took both and pushed them into his m/t slots. "I'll set a second card face down, and then play a magic card call Burning Attack. One of my monsters may attack directly by reducing its attack by half during this turn. So I'll cut Demon Soldier's(950/1500) attack in half and have it attack Ryu directly!"
The demonic soldier roared at Ryu as it was engulfed by fire. It took off like a rocket right at Ryu, colliding with him and sending him flying several feet back. The fire vanished and Demon Soldier was back in its original form and spot, with its attack strength returned to normal.
Ryu on the other hand wasn't exactly in good shape. The front of his shirt was burned completely off, and light burns covered his chest. His body was also twitching violently as the pain consumed him, driving him nearly off the edge again. However, with Hinata at his side and the power of his gauntlet he was able to persevere. (RLP: 600)
"I'll switch Demon Soldier into defense mode, and end my turn. It won't be long now before this duel comes to an end!"
Ryu coughed and picked himself up, drawing one card as he did so. He grinned and slapped it onto one of his monster zones. "Yeah, comes to an end in our favor that is. You may have me beat when it comes to life points, but Hinata is ahead of you both in field strength and in life points. So all I have to do is back her up with Battle Ox(17000/1000). Go ahead Hinata, finish him off!"
Hinata smirked for the first time in that duel, displaying an arrogance that only those who believe themselves to be better can achieve. In this moment she believed, no she knew, that she was better then Taichi. With Ryu's help she was going to finish off Taichi once and for all, then nobody would have to worry about him.
"I'll flip my Bubonic Vermin to bring out the third and final one. Next I'll tribute my face up Bubonic Vermin and my Eradicator token for my strongest monster. Meet Sword Hunter(2450/1700)!" The monster that she summoned was a warrior who had far too many weapons on his body. Even part of his helmet was a thick dagger. The guy was armed to the teeth, and his effect would only arm him further.
"Jinzo, destroy Demon Soldier!" The android raised its favorite arm and shot a bolt of pure plasma at the demonic entity. Like Hades before it the Demon Soldier was unable to offer any resistance to the sheer power of the futuristic weapon, and was destroyed instantly.
"Sword Hunter, take out his other defense monster!" The weapon hunter drew a few of its many blades and charged at the defense monster, slicing it several times with its swords. The defense monster was slashed apart, but it reappeared moments later. The monster that was revealed was...a tree.
"You've flipped Fiber Jar! His effect will force us to shuffle our hands, fields, and cemetery in with our deck and then draw five cards. But I intend to keep that from happening to me. Activate Protective Pentagram! During this turn no monster or magic effects can affect my side of the field!"
Ryu and Hinata groaned as all their hard work vanished. On the other hand it didn't make sense for Taichi to return to them all the cards he had sent to their cemetery. Not only that, but he left himself with fewer options by using his Protective Pentagram. All he had now was a single face down card, and he'd only have one card in his hand come the next turn. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."
Taichi's shoulders shook with mirth as he placed a single card in his hand. He didn't even bother to check what it was, because he didn't need to. The game was over, and he had won.
"I told you earlier that I had no need of Exodia to defeat you. That was indeed the truth. I know that both of you came to the conclusion that I was trying to deck you out, and just now you must have wondered exactly why I undid that work. The answer comes with a card I got in my last Battle City duel. I had gotten all the locator cards I needed and more, but this final duelist, one who had six locator cards of her own, insisted on challenging me. I defeated her and then took this card."
He thrust one hand out in front of him, over his face down card. While Jinzo had been on the field it was useless, but now it was about to win him the duel. Better yet, there was absolutely nothing that these two fools could do about it! "Reveal trap card, Reversed Worlds! At a cost of 1000 life points I can switch each player's cemetery with their deck!"
(TLP: 1550) Taichi's laughter cut through even his own agonized spasms. It took the two duelist and their observer Kensai several seconds before they realized exactly what Taichi had just done. With no cards in their cemetery, and all but five cards intact in their deck, they were forced to place all of those cards in the cemetery. "Go ahead and take your turns. You lose no matter what!"
Ryu hung his head as it became his turn. Unable to draw a card he automatically lost the duel, according to the deck out rule. Moments later Hinata lost by the same rule. Taichi had defeated them. Not with the raw force of Exodia, not with beat down, but with sheer unstoppable strategy. Everything he had done was preparation for that single moment, and they had payed the price for it.
Taichi stood over the two defeated duelists, and knelt down so that he was at their level where they crouched in defeat. The two refused to look him in the eye, knowing what would come soon. He would just have to shake them up a bit. "Well, I think it rightfully should be Ryu who decides, seeing as how he was the one who accepted the duel in the first place."
Both of their heads shot up in surprise. Ryu instantly asked the obvious question, hardly thinking about what sort of response he might get. "What do you mean, I should decide? Decide what?"
Taichi put a hand to his heart as if surprised. He even gasped in shock to make it that much better. Oh how he lived tearing this mortals apart from the inside out. "Why which of you loses their soul of course!"
"Which of us? But we both lost!" Taichi's eyes seared into Ryu's very core of being, and he felt the surge from his gauntlets. In that moment he remembered exactly what Taichi had said about their souls. He remembered, and now he understood.
Taichi grinned and then stood, pointing back and forth between the two duelists. "I see you remembered what I said. It was 'someone' will lose their soul. Meaning only one. Now it will be you who chooses who it is who loses their soul. Shall it be you? Or will it Ms. Donovan?"
He could see the pain in Ryu's eyes, could feel it coming off the boy in waves. How easy this mortals were to manipulate, and how much fun it was to break them. He wondered whether Ryu's breaking point was like Drake's. Drake was a strange one.
Through manipulation Taichi had pushed him passed what he had believed to be Drake's breaking point, but though he broke, it wasn't what Taichi had wanted. Instead Drake become a furious raging demon, instead of a broken mess of a mortal. Would Ryu be the same? "Who will it be? Tick tock tick tock tick tock, the clock is ticking Mr. Shigeru. Decide now or I'll decide for you."
Ryu stood and faced Taichi, fire in his eyes. That fire, when that fire was extinguished Taichi would truly have succeeded in crushing the spirit of such a strong youth. Crushing this boy was more of an accomplishment than crushing Shadi, as he was the tougher of the two. "Mine. Take my soul."
Taichi smiled and raised the blank card that he had waiting. "As you wish." A bright flash of light ripped the purple fog away from them, giving Kensai a clear view into the blinding light. It washed over the entire corridor, blanketing them all in that glorious hellish light. And Hinata's lifeless body hit the ground.
Ryu's eyes whipped over to Hinata and he dropped to his knees. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. But no response could be dragged from her. "It was suppose to be me! It was supposed to be me! Never you!"
Ryu Shigeru, a young man of seventeen who had faced worse then many people older then he. A young fighter who had been through gun fights and seen people he cared about mowed down. This young man, Ryu Shigeru, collapsed on the body of the girl he considered his little sister, and he began to sob uncontrollably.
Taichi Nobuki walked passed the sobbing wreck, passed the body he hugged fiercely to his chest, passed the furious Kensai, and towards the dueling ring. He had been right all along. Breaking Ryu Shigeru had been more enjoyable then breaking Shadi. That would make it all the better when the time came to finish him off.
Behind him Ryu's sobbing faded away into a mere echo in the distance.
*********************************************
As soon as Mai and Dalin had exited the arena, the next competitor was already making his way to his place. Shuffling his deck heatedly, Drake Ihachi cast a glance over his shoulder at the younger girl, Autumn Kurai. "Are we gonna do this thing or not? I don't have all day!"
The auburn hair girl rolled her eyes and started shuffling her own deck as she made her way up to stand across from Drake. Once she was satisfied that her deck was well shuffled she slammed it home into her deck holder, and watched as Drake did the same. Then they raised their arms and activated the duel disks. The machines clanked into position and the counters rose. The field projectors activated and the ref stepped forwards.
Raising one arm into the air the ref gave the official announcement. "The final duel of the quarter finals will now commence! Duel!" The two duelists pulled their disks close to their bodies and drew their opening hands. Autumn caught Drake drawing six cards, so realized that he intended to go first. (DLP: 4000, ALP: 4000)
Drake looked down at his six cards and grimaced, not getting as good a hand as he had hoped for. He hadn't seemed to have gotten any of his best cards during all of his Battle City duels. That would have to change if he was going to beat Taichi.
Frustrated he shook his head, getting his hair out of his eyes. In the action of doing so he managed to not notice the faint glow that was pulsing from the disc that hung around his neck. He grabbed two of his cards and played them as quickly as he could, wanting to get the duel done with. "I'll set one card face down and a monster in defense. That's all."
In Autumn's head her two spirits could be heard arguing. They were arguing about Drake, arguing about the darkness that she had felt weeks ago. A few weeks ago she had seen someone who looked vaguely familiar walk by, and they had exuded a strange and powerful darkness. She could feel that same darkness floating off of Drake in waves.
Her spirits wanted to take over, but she knew that this was one duel she had to win on her own. She had to prove to herself that she didn't need them, and she had to beat Drake to knock some sense into him. Hastily she drew her card, and her move was on.
"I'm going to empty my hand in this first turn. I'm going to start off by using a magic card so rare and so powerful that I doubt even Kaiba has one. Anybody who has one of these is lucky beyond belief, and I got mine from some robed freak in my first Battle City duel. Time to meet...Raigeki!"
Drake let out a cry as he was momentarily blinded by the bolt of lightning that pierced through the clouds. It crashed down on his side of the field and his face down monster was blown away in a mere second. Because it was destroyed by a card like that, its effect was useless.
Autumn grinned and plucked another card from her hand and slammed it down on her playing field. "I'll continue my turn and your defeat by summoning Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600)!" A tall warrior decked out in black armor appeared on the field, menacing Drake with the blade that extended from its right arm. It was a deadly looking monster, but something about it felt wrong to Drake.
"What's someone like you doing with that monster? It doesn't seem like your style." Autumn responded by shrugging her shoulders and giving him a slight smile. Drake could tell by the smile that she was hiding something. Whatever she was hiding couldn't be good.
"I like it that's all. Now I'll continue by setting two cards face down. Now Gearfreed attacks!" The knight hurled itself across the field at Drake's waiting body, its blade pointed straight at Drake's chest. The punk duelist smirked and clenched one fist at his side, clenching so hard that his knuckles started to turn white.
There was a brief flicker of golden light from his item before he put one arm out in front of him as if to ward off Gearfreed's attack. "Activate Waboku!" The robed men appeared on the field and stopped the knight's blade before it could reach Drake. Unable to complete its attack and inflict damage the knight was forced to return to its spot in front of Autumn.
The female duelist took the two remaining cards in her hand and slipped them into her m/t slots, taking up four of the five spaces. If she kept up like that she might end up in a situation similar to the one Dalin had been in during the previous duel. "My first magic card is called Mirage of Nightmare! By its effect during your turn I can draw cards until I have four in my hand!"
Drake shrugged offhandedly and then gestured at the card as it appeared holographically on the field. "But since your hand is empty the second part of Mirage of Nightmare's effect will mean you don't really gain anything. Without any cards in your hand you'll be forced to discard four cards, meaning you'll have lost everything you tried to gain. And I was thinking you were a worthwhile duelist."
As he spoke Autumn's second card appeared on the field. It was a magic card depicting two hands covered in metal, clutching a hand of cards tightly. The indicating label at the bottom told Drake that it was a permanent magic card. As to its effect...he'd have to find out.
"My other magic card fixes the mistakes of Mirage of Nightmare! Its called Hands of Steel, and while its in play no player may discard cards to pay for any card cost! Now I'll get to keep every card I draw each of your turns!" Drake grimaced as he realized the severity of the situation. Already he was stuck in one of her loops! She could use as many cards as she wanted in her turn, because then she'd get them back during his!
He grimaced and drew his next card free, but before he could announce his move Autumn announced hers. He watched as her trap card flipped up and she drew cards from her deck until she had four in her hand. "Drop Off will send the card you just drew to the cemetery!" Drake grinned as it went to the grave, knowing that the card he had just lost was often better off in the cemetery then on the field.
"I'll set one monster in defense mode. Next I'll play a revival card known as Shallow Grave. Normally we could both take back a monster and set it face down, however since you've got no monsters in the cemetery I'm the only one who profits!"
His duel disk ejected the card he wanted from his cemetery, and he placed it face down and sideways on the field next to his other monster. At the moment they were just a wall between Autumn and himself. He needed to get a chance to regroup and get better cards. Otherwise she'd take him apart.
"Draw! Now I'll activate my remaining face down card, a permanent trap known as Twin Toss! Now whenever I must flip a coin for an effect I flip another coin with it, so for any card requiring the flipping of a coin, I've got double the chance of succeeding!" The trap card opened up, revealing two hand's flicking a pair of coins into the air. The appearance of this trap had Drake wondering exactly what she was planning.
"I'll continue my turn with the permanent magic card, Second Coin Toss! Now if I so choose I can negate a coin flip and flip again, negating the previous results. This will give me an even greater chance of success!" Her new magic card shimmered into view, backing up her other card. This new combo obviously had something to do without whatever else she was planning. It probably wasn't good for him.
"My third card for this turn is called Soul Exchange, and it lets me sacrifice one of your monsters in place of mine. So I'll sacrifice the monster on the left and my Gearfreed in order to summon a monster I got from one of my Battle City victories. The mighty machine monster, Barrel Dragon(2600/2200)!"
Drake grimaced as his Apprenticeship Magician and Gearfreed vanished, only to be replaced by a towering dragon with two long gun barrels extending from its back. There was a loud click as it loaded a round into each chamber of its gun barrels. With her new monster's effect and the combo of coin cards she had set up, she could easily demolish any defenses she set up. His only advantage at the moment was that it couldn't attack this turn. "Go ahead, flip your coins!"
She grinned and started the coins. As Barrel Dragon's three coins were sent hurtling into the air, another set of three came flying out of the Twin Toss card. The first set ended up two tails and a heads. Unfortunately for Drake the other set were all heads...his monster was a goner. The mechanical dragon's barrels flashed as they unloaded a volley of what was essentially cannon fire upon his defense monster, shattering it into pieces. "So what? You've finished off my defense monster, but you still can't attack!"
Yet again she offered him a grin as she held up another card from her hand. She slipped it into an activation slot and then smirked as the dragon started loading its barrels again. The only reason it would be reloading right now was if it was about to attack. "All rules are meant to be broken. I'll break this one with the Quick Attack magic card! Barrel Dragon, blow him away!"
The golden disc that hung from Drake's neck flashed a bright golden color right before the shell fire struck him. A wave of smoke from the explosion covered him, leaving no way to tell what sort of situation he was in. But with no cards face down all watching were certain that the direct attack had been successful.
The smoke faded away, revealing a confident Drake standing there looking unharmed. Most duelists would have been knocked over by the explosive force of the attack, but somehow he was standing, unmoved by Autumn's efforts. "Nice move. Is it over?" Autumn nodded, giving him the go ahead, and he drew his next card. As he did so he saw Autumn replenish her own hand.
(DLP: 1400) Drake grimaced as he looked down at his hand of a measly three cards. So far Autumn's moves had been impressive and highly effective. Already he was down to less then half his initial life points. He had to do something to recover soon, or he'd be finished for sure! He couldn't let her win, only he had the right to face Taichi! "I'll set one card face down, and a monster in defense mode. Go ahead and take your turn, but know that nothing you do can keep me from Taichi!"
Autumn drew her next card, giving her a total of five cards. She started to pick one card from her hand to play when she was cut off by Drake's commanding voice. She looked up from her hand to see him raising his face down card. She saw immediately that it was a trap card, but it was one she didn't recognize.
"Activate Mechanical Magic Mirror! This will let me activate a magic card from your cemetery!" Autumn gasped in shock as the sky above boiled over with dark clouds, revealing exactly what card he was using. She threw a hand up in front of her face to shield her eyes as a bolt of lightning stabbed down from the heavens and shattered her Barrel Dragon into a million pieces. Now her coin combo was useless, and her strongest monster was gone!
"Nice move. Now I'll start this turn by summoning Amazoness Swords Woman(1500/1600). Amazoness, attack his defense monster!" A feral looking woman with long dirty hair appeared on the field, wielding a large sword. She bounded across the field and slashed her weapon down at Drake's defensive monster. It was revealed to be a blue skinned woman wearing a green robe. The amazon's blade was reflected backwards.
(DLP: 900) "What the hell? Why are my life points going down? You're the one who ran face first into my Mystical Elf(800/2000)!" Autumn shrugged her shoulders almost as if she too was confused. She set a card face down before bothering to give him an explanation of any sort.
"Her effect. Whenever she's in battle all damage that would be dealt to my life points are dealt to my opponent's instead. She's perfect for monsters like Mystical Elf. Because the elf's attack isn't worth a thing I can continue to deplete your life points each turn by running my amazon monster headlong into your defenses!"
Drake's body was beginning to shake as he felt the anger bubbling up and being directed at Autumn. She wasn't the source of his anger, but she was getting in his way, and he couldn't stand it! He absolutely refused to have some little girl stand in his way! She was two years younger then him! His sneer turned into a smirk of victory as he took a look at the card he had just drawn. Now he had a chance to regroup. "Pot of Greed!"
He placed two more cards in his hand and his eyes lit up at the sight of one of those cards. It was the counterpart to his deadly magic card, Change of Heart. Now he'd be able to turn this duel around in his favor! "I'll begin by switching Mystical Elf into attack mode. Next I'll summon Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) in attack mode!"
The deadly black robed spellcaster took its spot next to the holy elf, ready to obey its master's call. It was a powerful monster, and if played correctly it would bring out one of Drake's strongest monsters. "Next I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon on your face down card!"
Autumn grimaced as a gust of wind and small bolt of lightning shattered her face down card. Now she didn't have Wall of Blades trap. If he had attacked while she had it, she would have been able to flip a coin. If she had called it right then his monster would be destroyed and he'd have lost half his life points. But now that chance was gone!
"My next magic card is equally as rare as Raigeki...and I got it when I became a Rare Hunter! Initially I took my position as a Rare Hunter to gather information for Kaiba, however I realized that its benefits are quite great, more then the pathetic dental plan Kaiba offers!" At this everyone through a glance at the CEO who refused to look in their direction.
"I play the magic card, Absolute Power! Using this card I can take control of the effect of one of your magic cards! So now I'll take over Mirage of Nightmares! I'll be the one profiting from your card combo now! Not only that, but Confiscation will give my magician a second magic counter. With that note, Skilled Black Magician attacks!" The mage thrust his staff forward and sent a stream of black magic energies cascading down upon the amazon. Unable to defend herself against the superior attack the female warrior succumbed and was destroyed.
(DLP: 500) "Mystical Elf, attack directly!" The holy elf raised her hands and whispered some sort of mystical chant. A faint glow surrounded her, echoed by the glow that was issuing from Drake's Millennium item. The glow around the elf escalated, and a white blast of magic shot forth and struck Autumn in the chest, forcing her backwards a couple of feet.
(ALP: 3200) Autumn grimaced and drew her next card, hoping for a monster strong enough. Drake had been taking a large risk, getting through her amazon just for a direct attack by the weak Mystical Elf. Doing so had been a risk, but his risk had payed off. Her only monster had no attack strength, but it had a worthwhile effect. Her newest card on the other hand...
'Misuno! We did not have a Mirror Force trap card in our deck! What the hell do you think you're doing? I said this was my duel! Have you been manipulating the cards I've gotten the whole time?'
A faint whisper responded to her in her head, a dry chuckle that grated her nerves. It seemed like AB wasn't able to control Misuno as well as she had hoped. That evil jerk was starting to piss her off! 'Of course. In fact I also manipulated his cards so he'd have a bad hand in the beginning. Unfortunately the kid either got wise or just instinctively used his own magic to negate mine. The kid is strong...much stronger then any I've encountered in a long time. Too strong if you ask me.'
Tossing aside his words she chose to act with what she had. If Drake was using his own magic to stop Misuno, there was nothing saying that he wasn't using his magic to get the cards he needed anyways. If he was stronger then Misuno he might even be manipulating her deck so she wouldn't get a good card. That might be why he so confidently left his elf out in the open. It would also explain how he defeated Kaiba. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and one card. End turn."
She smirked to herself as he drew his next card, giving him five cards in his hand thanks to the effect of her own Mirage of Nightmare. Thanks to her Hands of Steel card he didn't have to discard either. As soon as he attacked he'd get a big surprise. Even if he got past Mirror Force her monster Breaker Wall would shatter his defenses and give him damage as well. Coupled with its high defense it would even deal damage to her opponent if the monster's attack was higher then its defense.
"I play Shot From the Dark, activating a card from my cemetery. Namely Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down card! With that out of the way I sacrifice the three counters and my magician in order to special summon the Dark Magician(2500/2100)!"
Autumn grimaced as her Mirror Force was destroyed, and then moments later the purple robed magician that characterized a spellcaster deck took the Skilled Black Magician's place. What was worse was that its appearance was a special summon, so Drake could still summon this turn. Breaker Wall would hold him off. "Now I sacrifice Mystical Elf for Chaos Magician(2400/1900)!"
The new monster was similar to the Dark Magician, except it was more heavily covered, and its robes were a black color with red trim. Its staff was also black with a glowing red jewel imbedded in it. Autumn sighed, knowing that her estimation was a bit off. "Chaos Magician, attack her defense monster!" A burst of light magic energy shattered her monster. In reply a flurry of shards struck out at Drake. Moments before they could hit him a bright light sprang up from his disc and the shards shattered feet away from him.
(DLP: 400) "Dark Magic Attack!" Autumn cried out as the blast struck her dead on, knocking her backwards and breaking her life points down. Now she was in as bad a shape as Drake, and he had the obvious advantage. How quickly the tides could turn. (ALP: 700) Her opponent didn't smirk, didn't grin, he merely glared daggers at her, his body shaking with anger as he shoved two cards into his m/t slots.
"I'll set these two cards face down. Next I'll play Magical Well, allowing me to place one magic card from my deck and put it in my hand. However I can't activate it during this turn. That'll be it for me you stupid bitch!" Autumn's eyes widened as he cursed at her, his body shaking even more heavily, as if he were going into withdrawal or something like that.
She continued to watch him as she drew, realizing that something was happening to him. Not even Misuno or AB could answer the question as to what was happening to him and why. They were as confused as she was. She didn't have time to waste on checking how everyone else was reacting. She had to duel. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Barrel Dragon(2600/2200)!"
The mechanized dragon appeared on the field and loaded up its cannons. She started to call out for it to activate its effect but before she could Drake beat her to the punch. "Open face down card, Negate Effect! This quick play magic card stops the effect of one monster on the field during this turn. Namely yours!" She groaned as her monster's effect was cut-off before it could get off the ground.
"Fine, Barrel Dragon, attack and destroy Chaos Magician!" The dragon unloaded its cannons on the defenseless wizard, who, unable to stop the attack, was blown into a million pieces. Taking a chunk of what remained of Drake's life points with him. However her joy was put aside as two more monsters appeared in its place, Apprenticeship Magician and Skilled Dark Magician.
"Your destruction of my magician triggers my other quick play magic card, Reward of Necromancy! It allows me to revive monsters from my cemetery whose total levels are equal to or less then the monster you destroyed!" Autumn grimaced as she was forced to end her turn, knowing that Drake had recovered yet again.
The rage that she saw in Drake's eyes as he drew his next card frightened her greatly. Even worse was the surging energies of his disc. She wasn't as good at sensing magical energies as Misuno was, but even she could feel the energy rolling off of Drake in waves, and it was far above anything she could accomplish, even with the help of her two spirits and her item. His power was mind boggling and it just kept growing!
"I play Card in Hand to call a monster from my deck to my hand!" He ejected his deck from its holder and swiftly searched through it before he came to the card he wanted. Then he hastily shuffled his deck and shoved it back into the holder. His actions were impeded by the severe shaking of his hands. His shaking was getting worse as his power grew, meaning that the two were related.
"Now I play the card I got last turn, to revive the monster you forced me to discard in my second turn. I play Monster Reborn!" Autumn's eyes shot as wide as they could go as his next monster appeared on the field. It was a monster she recognized from his duel with Kaiba, the Black Magician of Chaos!
"By its effect I return Monster Reborn to my hand, and now I'll play it to revive Chaos Magician!" The monster Autumn had so recently destroyed reared its head yet again as it was revived from the cemetery, giving Drake a total of five monsters on the field. Drake's power was beginning to reach astronomical levels, and she could now literally feel his anger through her Millennium Staff.
"I sacrifice Skilled Black Magician, Apprenticeship Magician, and Chaos Magician for the Immense Divine Soldier...Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!" He picked up the three named monsters and then slammed his next card on the field as hard as he could. As the god monster started to appear the entire field shook, as Drake's power started pulsing off his body.
The mighty god reared its ugly head, and roared down at Autumn, nearly knocking her off her feet by the sheer power behind that roar. Obelisk had been a well controlled monster when Kaiba had played it, but the rage that infused it from Drake was turning Obelisk into an uncontrollable demon!
Drake raised his arms up to his sides and then squeezed them shut as hard as he could. In response Obelisk reached down and picked up Drake's two monsters and held them up exactly as Drake held his fists. Autumn watched as he squeezed tighter and tighter, watched in horror as the monsters began to cry out in pain. This couldn't be happening....his magic was making this real! "Drake! Why are you doing this? Please don't! You have to stop!"
The infuriated duelist was beyond stopping at this point. The tidal wave of anger and magic that surged through his body had carried him away to a place that was beyond persuasion. On the outside of the arena both Yami and Dalin were focusing their magical energies on the field, but their efforts were like the buzzing of flies to the titanic power that leeched out of Drake's body. Too much power for him to handle.
"You...you don't understand what its like! You didn't have to see those eyes! Didn't have to see them, so blank, once filled with life, those eyes staring up at you just like before! You don't understand! My sister was always an energetic person, even as weak a condition as she was in! But in that moment after she passed this item on to me, in that moment I saw her eyes go blank! She was worse then dead, everything that had made her who she was had been ripped away by some sick bastard who didn't like her breaking up with him!"
Autumn was the one trembling now as blood trickled from the other duelist's hands as he pierced his own skin through the force of his nails on his skin. Above him the bodies of the magicians broke, and blood dripped from the giant god monster's hands, splashing onto the ground below.
"Then it happened again, and again it was some sick bastard who got some sort of fucking pleasure out of it! He enjoyed seeing that look in her eyes don't you understand that? He wanted to see her in that state, wanted to see the life gone from her! He did the same to Shadi, but that was more merciful! At least Shadi got to die! Now that bastard is somewhere here, laughing his head off! And you're standing in my way!"
He swung his arms to the side and the god that was linked to him did the same, sending the corpses of Drake's spellcasters flying into the walls. Once again the god monster roared at her, slowly advancing upon her dragon that now seemed tiny in comparison. Autumn vainly started to gather up all the power she could, ready to defend herself at a moments notice from the juggernaut before her.
"My heart is on fire! I can't even describe the feelings that are ripping me apart inside! You stand between me and my goal, between me and Taichi. And anything in the way of the way for me to quench my burning heart will suffer my wrath! I'll kill anyone who will keep me from quenching my burning heart! And right now...that's you. OBELISK! ATTACK! RIP HER APART!"
The god monster lunged forward, snagging Barrel Dragon in its massive fists. With a mighty twist it ripped the dragon apart, sending a shower of sparks and blood raining down upon Autumn. On the outside the others vainly tried to get in, to stop what was happening. But they couldn't stop it.
(ALP: 0) The duel had been ended, but Obelisk wasn't finished. It reached out for her, its hand uncurling so that it could pick her up and crush her. In that moment she took all the power that she had gathered and unleashed it as a massive barrier against the attack. As she did so she saw the spirit link between Obelisk and Drake. She could break such links with her item, but he was to powerful for that. Slowly Obelisk was pushing past her barrier, and when it reached her she would die.
On the opposite side of the field Drake's body was reaching critical mass. It couldn't handle the huge amounts of magical energies that it was unleashing, and his body spasamed uncontrollably as a release mechanism. It wouldn't take long before Obelisk had killed Autumn, and the energy that Drake was using would kill him in the process as well.
Autumn yelped in surprise as a torrent of magical energies surged through her, buffeting her in its wake. She recognized the textures of the power that Dalin and Yami possessed as they added their magical energies to hers, keeping her safe for a little while longer. But even their combined powers wouldn't hold back Obelisk for much longer.
Drake let out a strangled cry, and then a gurgle as he collapsed face first to the ground, blood welling up in his mouth. His eyes drifted closed and the raging energies that had surged through his body moments earlier dissipated, shattering Obelisk in the process, and keeping Autumn safe. Around him the three exhausted duelists collapsed to their knees, breathing heavily.
The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was feet quickly approaching the field at a frantic pace. The last thing he heard was a very familiar laugh as a familiar presence entered the room. Then Drake saw and heard no more.
He was lucky that he didn't see Taichi's laughter at the debacle before him. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop the energies that had just nearly killed him from rising up again and turning upon Taichi.
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Author's Note: Phew! Got that off my chest. Some of the cards that appeared have not appeared in the CCG yet, not even in Japan. They have however appeared in the anime. Well, read and review!
Original Cards
Taichi: Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet, Demon Catapult, Demon Puppetry, Treasure From Hell, Big Bad Voodoo, Technique for Exorcism, Halt Play, Demon Reward, Burning Attack, Protective Pentagram
Ryu: Breaker Blade, Life Giving Gauntlets, Eradication Blaster X13
Hinata: Movement of the Thieves Guild
Autumn: Hand of Steel, Twin Toss, Wall of Blades, Breaker Wall
Drake: Absolute Power, Shot From the Dark, Magical Well, Negate Effect, Reward of Necromancy, Card in Hand